The arrival of tens of thousands of young Moroccans in Ceuta – a Spanish enclave on the African continent – immediately resulted in a torrent of lies. Not only the right and far right, but also most European leaders – joined by Trump in the United States – brandished the “threat of an invasion” against which we have to defend ourselves.
The hundred or so deaths didn’t cause them to shed a tear. Nor were they moved by the migrants who had nothing but the clothes they had worn during the crossing, who had no money, no access to basic hygiene and were subjected to violence from the military and some local residents. “We thought we were headed to paradise but we ended up in hell” said one migrant before returning to Morocco, as did the vast majority of them.
Freedom of movement for all workers!
These young people, many of them teenagers under 15 years old, wanted to escape the poverty and unemployment that affects almost half of Morocco’s youth. Their only goal was to make their dreams come true by working, just like everyone their age in the world. The freedom to move and to settle where workers can make a living should be an elementary right. It is unacceptable that youth should have to risk death to achieve this.
Calling it “an attack, a violation of Spain's territorial integrity”, Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez announced the deployment of police, soldiers, and armored vehicles. But what about Morocco’s territorial integrity given that the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla are the heritage of Spanish colonialism!
All European leaders were well aware that these thousands of young people couldn't reach Spain or the European Union. Ceuta is subject to a special status that makes access to the rest of Europe as difficult as it is from Morocco. But Macron nevertheless multiplied by five the number of police officers and gendarmes at the French-Spanish border.
European leaders lie
The prize for cynicism goes to Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Meloni, who announced the suspension of free movement within the Schengen Area for Spain, even though Italy shares no border with Spain. Almost all other European Union leaders followed suit. They all deliberately lied because they agreed to act as if immigration were the primary threat today. This is a despicable diversion, but also a dangerous one, used by the far-right, the champion of isolationism, and by many politicians.
They all want to make workers believe that immigrants are a threat and that borders can protect them from unemployment and poverty. But those responsible for unemployment, job insecurity and low wages are the employers, and forcing them to back down depends entirely on the struggles that the working class is capable of waging against their rapacity. Those who keep saying that we can't “take in all the world's misery” are actually preaching resignation and want us to accept, as an unchangeable fate, the disastrous condition of hospitals and all the most vital public services...
We must combat those truly responsible for poverty
The true culprits behind poverty, in France as in other countries, are the shareholders of the CAC 40 giants (Paris stock market index), whose profits increased by more than 44% in the first half of 2026, reaching 74.93 billion euros. A minority of extremely wealthy bourgeois, 153 billionaire families, are holding on to the wealth produced by millions of workers. A minority of capitalists and the rulers at their service orchestrate the exploitation of all peoples and the plundering of the resources of poor countries. Their rivalry and wars have destroyed entire regions of the world and rendered them uninhabitable.
This is precisely what they want us to forget and they’re using immigration as a scare tactic to do it. It's only by overthrowing capitalism that it will be possible to ensure that everyone can live a life in accordance with the huge potential of our society. Regardless of their nationality, origin, or religion, workers must reject divisions in order to join forces against their exploiters.
Nathalie Arthaud