Mystery Ingredient / Anardana

It was only a matter of time before immigration would again panic Europe. The issue has roiled the continent’s politics ever since its 2015 migrant crisis, when 1.3 million unauthorized migrants crossed its borders that summer. They exposed a broken immigration system in the process, triggering a populist backlash that hasn’t dimmed.

All those same tensions were reignited in late July, when 72,000 migrants converged on the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in just 24 hours. The city — a holdover from Spain’s colonial era — is Europe’s only land border with Africa, nestled next to Morocco. It was almost instantly overrun.

Dozens of people died in the chaos, while the reasons for the sudden influx remain unknown. However, virtually all the arrivals were sent back to Morocco almost immediately; some spent a few days in makeshift holding centres. None were recorded as finding their way to mainland Europe.

Still, the episode inflamed divisions in a region caught in existential limbo. Ultranationalist political parties are ascendant — yet low birth rates and stagnant productivity mean Europe’s future largely hinges on accepting more newcomers.