France’s Bardella backs Vox in Spanish election, attacks Sanchez’s migration policy

French far-right party leader Jordan Bardella on Tuesday backed Spain’s Vox ahead of the Nov. 29 election, accusing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s migration policies of endangering societies across Europe.

Speaking at a Nueva Economia Forum event in Madrid alongside Vox leader Santiago Abascal, the National Rally president criticized Spain’s program to grant legal status to undocumented migrants and called for tighter restrictions on travel within Europe.

“The migration policy he has pursued has had dramatic consequences, not only for Spanish society, but also for the balance of all European societies,” Bardella said of Sanchez.

He accused the Spanish government of exposing Europeans to mass immigration, arguing that its decisions also endangered the French population.

Bardella expressed hope that Abascal would become Spain’s prime minister, describing him as a friend and European partner.

A recent survey for Spanish broadcaster RTVE put Vox in third place but projected it would nearly double its seats, giving it and the conservative Popular Party a combined parliamentary majority.

National Rally, meanwhile, is leading French presidential polling. A Toluna-Harris Interactive survey published on Monday put Marine Le Pen at 35% to 37% in the first round of next year’s election.

Visits to Ceuta

The appearance followed the pair’s visit Monday to Ceuta, the Spanish enclave bordering Morocco that has become a political flashpoint since mass migrant crossings in late July.

Bardella linked those arrivals to Spain’s regularization program and said a National Rally government would seek changes to the Schengen travel area so that migrants granted legal status or residence permits by one country could not travel freely to others.

Bardella also called for a tougher role for the EU border agency Frontex, including the ability to carry out migrant returns.

Abascal likewise argued that Spain’s migration decisions concerned the wider bloc. He said Bardella’s visit to Ceuta sent a message that Spain’s southern border was also the southern border of France and Europe.

The Vox leader also demanded migrant expulsions and a greater militarization of the border.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are also due to visit Ceuta on Tuesday, their first official visit to the city since Felipe became king in 2014. Their itinerary includes a tribute to people who died at sea during the July crossings.

An estimated 80,000 people entered Ceuta from Morocco during the crisis, with at least 141 deaths, according to a European Parliament research briefing. Spanish authorities returned most of those who crossed within days, but thousands remain.

The crisis became a rallying point for the international far right, with Germany’s Alternative for Germany attacking Spain’s migration policies and US-based billionaire Elon Musk portraying the crossings as an “invasion.”