The city of Ceuta, a tiny speck of Spanish territory perched on the northern African coast, normally celebrates its Sept. 2 annual official holiday largely ignored by the mainland.
But not this year, after Ceuta became the epicenter of Spain's worst border crisis in living memory.
In lieu of festivities, tens of thousands of people took to the streets Wednesday across Spain to protest the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ceuta, demanding solutions and blaming Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for his government's handling of it.
In Madrid, authorities said some 50,000 protesters turned out. After the demonstration ended, an Associated Press journalist heard shots and explosions. Spanish newspaper El País reported that police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse crowds.
There were significant turnouts also in Barcelona, Valencia and Seville.
