This visit, which follows an invitation at the end of September from King Mohammed VI, “aims to mark a new ambition for the next 30 years” in the Franco-Moroccan relationship, welcomes the Élysée. The two countries, with a “rooted and solid partnership”, have a “common desire” to “strengthen the links” which unite them, adds the royal cabinet. A resolutely optimistic tone which contrasts with the disagreement at the top observed for three years, punctuated by campaigns against France in the media close to the Moroccan power.
“It was starting to get a little personal. We warm up relationships, we put aside disputes”
“Stuck in the sand” policy on Western Sahara, “duplicity”, “Algerian tropism”, “treason and felony”… The former colonial power was then doomed to slander. Soon more than a bad memory, we expect in Paris. The last state visit by a French president to this Maghreb ally country dates back to François Hollande in April 2013. Emmanuel Macron, who made a working visit there in 2017 at the very beginning of his first mandate, before returning in 2018 to inaugurate the Tangier-Casablanca high-speed train line with the king, thus coming full circle.
“Moroccan sovereignty”
To mark this important occasion, the president and his wife Brigitte will be accompanied by an imposing delegation, including the Ministers of the Interior Bruno Retailleau and the Ministers of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu. Mohammed VI will welcome his guest in person at the airport to the sound of 21 cannon shots.
The two heads of state will then join the Royal Palace aboard a ceremonial car for a face-to-face meeting followed by the signing of agreements (energy, water, education, internal security). On Tuesday, the king will also host a state dinner in honor of the president and his wife. The same day, Emmanuel Macron will deliver a speech to Parliament and attend contract signings during an entrepreneurial forum.
The fight against illegal immigration, a bone of contention between the two countries, and Western Sahara will be at the heart of the visit. This former Spanish colony, considered a “non-autonomous territory” by the UN, has pitted Morocco against the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algiers, for half a century.
After the United States recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over this territory, Rabat increased pressure on France to do the same.
On July 30, Emmanuel Macron ended up considering that the future of Western Sahara fell “within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty”, opening the way to warming with Rabat and by extension to a new crisis with Algiers.
On immigration, the new French Prime Minister Michel Barnier intends to resume discussions, “in a spirit of dialogue”, to facilitate the return to their country of Moroccans subject to expulsion in France. “We will not do it aggressively, but by laying down all the tools of bilateral cooperation,” he promises. In September 2021, Paris, to force the Kingdom to bend on this subject, decided to halve the visas granted to Moroccans, which was very badly experienced by Rabat.
“France will rely on Morocco in Africa and the Sahel”
« Hub »
Morocco, a regional power, has “the aim of constituting a hub between Europe and Africa”, strategically but also in terms of infrastructure, notably with electrical connectivity projects, notes the Élysée. “France will rely on Morocco in Africa and the Sahel”, where it has lost a lot of influence while the kingdom continues to gain influence, believes Khadija Mohsen-Finan.
The Franco-Moroccan warming opens up new perspectives for French companies, which were keeping a low profile in the face of the accumulation of disputes. Airbus Helicopters could thus sell twelve to 18 Caracals to the Moroccan Armed Forces during the visit, according to consistent sources.
