France steps up border checks due to the influx of migrants at Ceuta

France is tightening border checks with Spain over an influx of migrants into Ceuta, the North African Spanish exclave. President Emmanuel Macron asked the interior minister to step up controls at the Spanish border, according to the Élysée Palace on Friday. France is also consulting with Spanish and Moroccan authorities. Macron said on X that he offered Spain any necessary assistance and expressed solidarity. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez ordered the increase late Thursday and said the border agency’s rapid reaction force would be deployed in the hinterland as well. From Saturday, 334 police officers and gendarmes will be mobilized, alongside three aircraft for aerial surveillance, drones, and stepped-up train patrols on the French-Spanish rail line.