King Felipe VI affirms that Ceuta is an "integral part" of Spain

King Felipe VI of Spain declared on Tuesday that Ceuta and Melilla are an "integral part" of Spain, during a historic visit to the two North African enclaves claimed by Morocco.

However, the Spanish monarch, who rarely makes political statements, stressed the need for Spain to maintain "good neighborly relations" with Rabat, after the unprecedented influx of migrants into Ceuta in July strained the historically sensitive relations between the two countries.

This visit marks the first by a Spanish monarch since King Felipe VI's father, Juan Carlos, visited in 2007, a visit that triggered a diplomatic crisis with Rabat.

"Ceuta and Melilla are an integral part of the political and national reality that Spain represents," said Felipe. "Our country's sovereignty and territorial integrity are not up for negotiation."

During a visit to Ceuta with Queen Letizia, he added that Spain and the European Union have "the intention and the responsibility to maintain good neighborly relations with the Kingdom of Morocco."

The King and his wife stopped to greet and shake hands with many of those present as they proceeded to the city hall to meet with local officials.

This visit comes less than seven weeks before the snap elections scheduled for November 29, in which immigration is expected to be a major campaign issue.

Nearly two decades after the last royal visit, Ceuta, a city of nearly 80,000 inhabitants, is trying to return to some semblance of normalcy after the shock of the arrival of more than 70,000 migrants from Morocco in late July.

Although most left in the hours following their arrival, a few thousand remained in this small enclave between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, where some residents felt abandoned by the Spanish state.

The crisis has angered residents and weakened the position of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

Tony Jiménez, a 56-year-old nursing assistant who had been waiting outside the city hall since 9 a.m., wearing a T-shirt with a picture of the king and queen, said she hoped the visit would send a clear message to neighboring Morocco that Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish.

"We've been waiting for this visit for a long time," she added, noting that the influx of migrants in July had raised residents' fears about the future of the Spanish enclaves.

"Shaking hands with King Felipe was a source of happiness and pride," Cristina Carrasco, a 50-year-old civil servant, told AFP.

"We all told him, 'Don't forget us,' and he replied, 'No, we won't forget you.'"

- "The Most Difficult Moment" -

At the city hall, Ceuta's president, Juan Jesús Vivas, thanked King Felipe and Queen Letizia for visiting the city during "the most difficult moment in our modern history."

He added that Ceuta is "like a pressure cooker that could explode at any moment."

The government insists on respecting international law by assessing the migrants' right to asylum, while hundreds of unaccompanied children cannot be deported through summary procedures.

Authorities have prepared centers to accommodate more than 7,000 people and 2,800 minors, allowing for the clearing of the large migrant camps that had sprung up on some of the city's beaches. However, some migrants still live on the city's streets or in the surrounding hills, particularly in the suburbs.

Ana María Díaz, a 69-year-old retiree, said the king should have arrived earlier to see the makeshift migrant camps and that he should visit the outlying areas of Ceuta where migrants congregate.

For her part, Ana Muñoz, a 33-year-old employee who says she has partially lost faith in the king, said, "If he had come on the second day of the incursion, he would have understood the reality of the situation here. Now, he'll see that everything is clean, because they're all living in tents (...), and because we simply moved them from one place to another."

On Sunday, security forces cleared the Guano camp, the last remaining encampment on the area's beaches. Minutes later, bulldozers demolished the makeshift shelters where some 400 people had been living.

- "Spanish since time immemorial" -

The king and queen also visited a cemetery to pay tribute to the migrants who died during the influx into Ceuta, most of whom drowned while trying to swim around the border fence.

They also met with representatives of the Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and Hindu communities in Ceuta.

This visit puts relations with Morocco to the test, as King Mohammed VI of Morocco defended the "partnership" with Spain on Friday, categorically rejecting any attempt at "pressure" or "blackmail." He affirmed before parliament that the partnership with Madrid had seen "significant developments," including in the fight against irregular migration, but that it now faces "major challenges."

"What does the King of Morocco have to do with this?" said Mohammed Hammadi, a 41-year-old resident of Ceuta. "He and his opinion are irrelevant. Ceuta has always been Spanish."