“Macron listens to no one!” on France-Morocco relations

We remember that at the end of the summer, after an official visit to Algeria, Emmanuel Macron promised Moroccans in Morocco. However, for now, this is not intended to be implemented.

Writer Tahar Ben Jellun appeared on Thursday as a guest of Mag’hreb magazine on i24NEWS hosted by Cyril Amar. He has, so to speak, repeated the offense against the French President, in his recently published column in the columns of the French weekly “Le Point”, after having already provoked him in an exercise in somewhat style. But before that, let’s set the scene first!

Recently, “Africa Intelligence” confirmed that the French President will visit Rabat in January. As long as nothing official has filtered down from either side, the information should be taken with a grain of salt. This visit, if it happens, will be close to the High Level Meeting (HLM) that Morocco and Spain will prepare for the joint roadmap signed in April 2022.

Also, the visit of the French President has drawn attention. Indeed, Moroccan public opinion echoes this in the context of geopolitical cooling and the resulting strained relations that are rife with a whole range of contentious issues and hopes to dissipate in the near future. ‘Opportunity. At the top of the list of vexing subjects is the question of visas, which France has decided to halve.

In its willingness to allow the Kingdom’s reluctance to reintegrate immigrants in an irregular situation on French soil, France accepted many qualified beneficiaries or qualified Moroccan citizens, especially the elite, namely academics, administrators and other senior officials and dignitaries, all accustomed to traveling regularly to France and who had nothing “undesirable”.

But, in addition to the visa reduction, there are many differences between Morocco and France. Economic contracts. The question of insufficient recognition of Morocco’s claims to the Sahara is the reality of other contradictions the Kingdom alleges with respect to France.

Indeed, Rabat criticizes Paris for not clearly positioning itself on the question of its sovereignty over the Sahara. Also, it is clear that France still does not have an ambassador in Rabat. As we can see, there are plenty of vexing or vexing subjects between the two countries.

Also, Tahar Benjelloun, without actually criticizing anyone or anything, this time, however, takes the bait from the beginning of the month in Le Point, which indicates that real French political leaders, big government and government leaders have wisely ignored it. Having such Macronian attitudes. ” There were relationships Also privileged under Mitterrand, Chirac and Sarkozy “, the Concorde prize and academic will say, noting the change of era with Emmanuel Macron. ” He has no great sensitivity towards the Arab world and the Maghrib “, according to him. ” Betting everything on Algeria is a big mistake, because it pays nothing “, he insists.

Tahar Ben Jelloun described the visa issue ” Ridiculous punishment », which mostly affected Francophile intellectuals and artists. ” The Moroccan embassy has never refused to take back citizens who have illegally immigrated to France. The problem is that Paris also sends Algerian or Tunisian nationals, whom Morocco apparently does not want. “, he said.

On Sahara’s question, the writer would emphasize ” In December 2020, France stood aside when the Abraham Accords were signed between Israel and Morocco. “. He will remember that too The Sahara is sacred to the Moroccan people because of their historical ties to the region. Spain and Germany, moreover, have adopted the position adopted by Washington, and France can be expected to do the same. “, he noted.

According to Tahar Ben Jelloun, Emmanuel Macron does not understand how the Moroccan monarchy works. The writer does not go with a dead hand: ” It is an active monarchy that has nothing to do with the English or Scandinavian model. Perhaps France felt that Morocco was liberating itself a little too much for its taste. The country has grown and invested a lot, especially in Africa, which is viewed with suspicion by France. “, adds the writer.

Tahar Ben Zellon believes diplomatic escalation is out of the question for now. ” Discontent with France is very widespread in Morocco,” he explained.

In this sense the academic regrets, the French president “Don’t listen to anyone “. ” He ignored France’s relationship with Morocco out of ignorance and political error. He is focused on Algeria, but what he needs to do is develop balanced relations with all the countries of the Maghreb. Tahar Ben Jelloun concludes.