THE FUSE

Ceuta occupies an unusual piece of geography. Spanish territory on the north African coast and surrounded by Morocco, it is at once a city, a border and one of the places where the inequalities between Europe and Africa become physically visible. At the end of July, Spain’s interior ministry confirmed that more than 70,000 people entered Ceuta irregularly after claims circulated online that entry had become possible. A Spanish supreme court judgment concerning the return of migrants arriving by sea was distorted into a simpler and far more consequential message: reach Ceuta and Spain will allow you to stay.