MADRID, Spain – The celebration of National Day arrives this year marked by political tension, social concern over access to housing and the proximity of the general election on 29 November. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are presiding over the traditional military parade in Madrid on Monday, a day that also serves as a prelude to their visit to Ceuta and Melilla, scheduled for 13 and 14 October. The institutional event coincides with an electoral scenario in which Pedro Sánchez’s government and the main opposition parties face a new phase of political confrontation.
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The central ceremony begins at 11am with the arrival of the monarchs at the authorities’ stand, accompanied by Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía. The parade route runs through the centre of the capital, from the Glorieta del Emperador Carlos V in Atocha to Plaza de Colón, covering approximately 1,540 metres. The event brings together the prime minister, ministerial representatives, political leaders and regional officials, with the joint presence of the main authorities acquiring special relevance due to the proximity of the elections called for 29 November, which condition the agenda of the political formations and their public messages.
The military deployment constitutes one of the main elements of the celebration, with around 4,400 military personnel taking part alongside land and air assets of the Armed Forces and security forces. The event includes 144 vehicles, 39 motorcycles, 50 aircraft and 32 helicopters, as well as different representative units, with the participation of the Army’s 8×8 Dragon armoured vehicles standing out among the novelties of this edition. After the military honours, the raising of the flag and the tribute to those who gave their lives for Spain, the aerial displays and the land parade take place, after which the Royal Family moves to the Royal Palace to take part in the official reception bringing together institutional representatives and figures from different sectors of society.
One of the most notable political absences is that of Vox president Santiago Abascal, who is again left off the official stand of the Madrid parade. The leader has chosen to mark 12 October in Ceuta, where he plans to go accompanied by the leader of National Rally, Jordan Bardella. Abascal said through his account on X that on 12 October he will not be on any stand with a mafia government that has betrayed Spain and left part of our national territory invaded, adding that he will be in Ceuta with the Spaniards who defend the border that Sánchez has abandoned and concluding: on 12 October, with the Spanish people. Abascal justified his decision with criticism of Pedro Sánchez’s government, which he accuses of having abandoned the Spanish border, with his move placing the migration situation and the defence of national sovereignty at the centre of Vox’s political discourse during National Day. The prime minister and the leaders of the main political forces, for their part, are taking part in a day on which positions on immigration, border security and territorial policy once again occupy a prominent place in public debate.
A few hundred metres from the institutional route, the state of the housing market adds a social dimension to the celebration, with the encampment installed in Puerta del Sol representing the discontent of citizens and collectives denouncing the difficulties of accessing housing, especially in large cities. The protest gains greater relevance after the death of Maricarmen, an 87-year-old woman whose eviction had generated social outrage, with the case having helped keep the housing emergency at the centre of political discussion. Demands over rent, purchase prices and housing availability are shaping up as relevant issues in the election campaign, with the government and opposition parties maintaining different positions on the measures needed to facilitate access to decent housing while mobilised collectives demand solutions with concrete effects for citizens. The proximity between the encampment and the official events turns the housing crisis into one of the most visible elements of a day traditionally dedicated to national celebration.
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The day also prepares the ground for Felipe VI and Letizia’s trip to Ceuta and Melilla, scheduled for 13 and 14 October. It will be the first visit by the current monarchs to both autonomous cities and the first by a Spanish king since Juan Carlos I’s trip in 2007. The journey comes after the mass entry of migrants into Ceuta on 30 July, an episode that has intensified concern over the border situation and the response capacity of the administrations. As an institutional gesture, the King and Queen have invited representatives of civil society from both cities to take part in the events at the Royal Palace, an initiative intended to give visibility to their inhabitants in a context marked by migration difficulties and the strategic importance of the Spanish territories in North Africa. Less than seven weeks before the general election, housing, immigration and the situation of Ceuta and Melilla are among the issues that will foreseeably mark public debate in the coming weeks.
