Spain talks of putting pressure on Morocco, then the lights go out in Parliament

The incident occurred as Basque MP Jon Iñarritu was questioning the Spanish Defence Minister about the incidents that took place in Ceuta at the end of July. Suddenly, the room’s lighting went out completely, visually interrupting proceedings for several minutes.

“Oops, the lights are going out. I hope this isn’t a hybrid attack,” the MP joked, while participants remained plunged into darkness. The microphones and broadcast nevertheless continued to work, as shown by the Spanish Congress.

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Margarita Robles also tried to play down the incident: “I don’t mind whether people can see me, as long as they can hear me.” Technicians then intervened and the lighting was gradually restored, allowing the session to resume normally.

A session devoted to Ceuta, not electricity exports

The hearing nevertheless took place in a tense atmosphere. Following the attempts to enter Ceuta, several Spanish officials and media outlets discussed the means Madrid could use to put pressure on Rabat, particularly in the areas of energy, European cooperation and border controls. The Spanish government has not, however, announced any measure aimed at halting its energy exports to Morocco.

Robles defended the actions of the Spanish army and intelligence services, while reaffirming the “untouchable” nature of Ceuta and Melilla. She also sought to reassure the residents of the two cities, which are at the centre of this latest episode of tensions between Madrid and Rabat.

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The outage thus provided a particularly ironic image: that of a Spanish Parliament temporarily deprived of light while the public debate concerns, among other things, the use of energy as an instrument of pressure. However, nothing indicates that the incident was connected to Morocco or to a malicious act. Everything suggests that it was simply a technical problem, in a bilateral relationship where 23 billion euros in trade make any rupture difficult.