Ceuta residents confront Alvise and Núcleo National

The Ceuta that stands up to Vox while it rivals the PSOE at the polls

Few cities concentrate so many streets such a Spanish contradiction. In the 2023 Ceuta regional elections, Vox fell just four-tenths short of the PSOE: 20.64% versus 20.96%. Yet, when the far-right party takes to the streets, it faces a standoff. On August 1, 2026, around 9:30 PM, a group of locals confronted Alvise Pérez and Vito Quiles at a bar in the autonomous city, just a short distance from where Núcleo National had planned to march. “We don’t want Sarracinophobia here,” some summarized, while others claimed the event was a provocation.

This is not the first time Ceuta has become the stage for this war of narratives. The city lives pressed against a border separating two economies, two countries, and two approaches to security. This pressure means every visit by leaders like Alvise is read as a declaration of intent. Especially since the call came from Núcleo National, Vito Quiles’s platform that has made border control its banner.

The numbers of a divided city

The 2023 regional results explain why Ceuta is not a fortress for the far-right, nor an oasis. The PP leads with 34.37% and 9 seats; the PSOE secures 6; Vox is very close with 5; MDyC and Ceuta Ya! complete the spectrum with 3 and 2 seats respectively.

• PP: 9 seats (34.37%)
• PSOE: 6 (20.96%)
• Vox: 5 (20.64%)
• MDyC: 3 (11.24%)
• Ceuta Ya!: 2 (10.03%)

This is not cold statistics: it explains why the city that confronts Alvise is the same one that, at the polls, gave air to Abascal’s party. The mobilization against the Núcleo National event was a response on the streets, not in electoral booths. And that difference matters.

The background noise: from Paiporta to the border

Memory also plays a role. In the days leading up to the incident, audio clips attributed to Vox leaders during the DANA storm circulated again, allegedly planning to go to Paiporta to take photos and “score an Alvise” by soliciting donations. Although the audio has not been fully verified, they took root in public opinion as an example of how the far-right uses others’ suffering for campaigning. For many Ceuta residents, a visit by Alvise and Quiles was the same strategy: turning border drama into political spectacle.

Two narratives, one same powder keg

The subsequent reactions divided the map into two trenches. On one side, those defending the confrontation as an exercise of free speech against what they consider hate speech. On the other, those arguing the group did not represent real Ceuta and might be external agitators. This suspicion, without proof, became a counter-argument for those who prefer to think the standoff was an orchestrated operation. The problem is that both readings have a basis in the city: Ceuta coexists with a segment of the population that feels undeniably Spanish and another that rows with the Segarro narrative, justified or not.

The question remains: can Ceuta be both a city without complexes and a testing ground for the far-right? The August 1 standoff shows that tension will not be resolved with fleeting visits. Neither with flags nor videos. It takes more than spectacle to understand a border that seems unable to understand itself.