At Melilla, the ordeal of Moroccans living abroad (MRE)

It is a weekly ordeal for families. To cross the few meters that separate Melilla from Moroccan territory, one now needs infinite patience: the queues stretch up to six hours. An unsustainable situation, especially on weekends, when residents accompanied by young children remain trapped without a way out at the "Bab Melilla" checkpoint.

The culprit is identified: the technology intended to speed up checks is at a standstill. The "intelligent" system, victim of repeated computer failures, is not working. As a result, the police are forced to revert to manual methods and old stamps, while travelers, whose passports are already validated on the Moroccan side, find themselves stuck in front of closed doors on the Spanish side.

This technical fiasco provokes the anger of the police unions themselves. A police officer from the Unified Police Union (SUP) described the new system as "totally deficient". He denounces a tool of extreme slowness that crashes as soon as the documents are passed, far from the airport efficiency promised by the local government.

Concern is now growing for the upcoming deadlines. While the Spanish authorities sometimes try to shift responsibility to the Moroccan pace, the current malfunctions bode ill for the next crossing of the Strait, threatening to completely paralyze the border during periods of high traffic.