a rare documentary retraces the twenty-five years of reign of the monarch – Libération

It is one of the rare documents dedicated to the reign of Mohammed VI. This Saturday evening at 9 p.m., the Public Sénate news channel is broadcasting a 52-minute documentary entitled The Journey of a King. The Morocco of Mohammed VI. Directed by journalists Yves Derai and Michaël Darmon, the film immerses viewers in the oldest executive monarchy in the world through archival documents and testimonies from Moroccan and French political figures who rubbed shoulders with the sovereign during his twenty- five years in power.

“The king of young people”

“Who is this so-called secret monarch?” “How did he manage to transform the kingdom into an African power?” “For his people, is it a miracle or a mirage?” the journalists immediately ask, who attempt to answer these questions through several chapters. The first is devoted to the distancing of Mohammed VI from the style of governance of his father, Hassan II. When he ascended the throne in 1999, at just 36 years old, he was described as “the king of young people”which breaks with certain codes of traditional protocol of the monarchy. From childhood, his temperament more closely resembled that of his grandfather, Mohammed V, who died in 1961. A teacher describes the young heir as“very kind, very endearing child, who is neither pretentious nor proud”. At the time, he dreamed of becoming an airplane pilot.

Discreet or secret? The new king of Morocco is also notable for his absence from the media scene. He has given almost no interviews to the press, whether in the kingdom or abroad. The founder of the private radio station “Hit Radio”, Younes Boumehdi, confides that he never even dared to make an official request for an interview. Journalists and observers know this: “We never talk about the king himself, we never put him in line”according to a phrase from those around him. The monarch thus addresses the 37 million Moroccans through long speeches, without a teleprompter. Those they give during the traditional Feast of the Throne, each summer, are particularly awaited.

Soft power

Economically, Mohammed VI is considered “a modernizing king” who succeeded in raising his country to the rank of fifth African power, with a GDP which has just crossed 140 billion dollars, continues the documentary. Over the past two decades, the kingdom has experienced a significant transformation of its infrastructure (TangerMed port, highways, TGV lines, airports). In the Maghreb, Morocco, which hosted COP 22 in Marrakech in 2016, has also become a leader in renewable energies. A bet “which had brought us considerably closer”remembers former French President François Hollande. A forced growth which nevertheless increased inequalities. The powerful earthquake of September 8, 2023, which caused the death of 3,000 people in the mountainous and remote region of the High Atlas, particularly illustrated these disparities. Women, too, remain “harmed by patriarchal legislation” even if Mohammed VI made progress in terms of women’s rights, notably thanks to a reform of the family code in 2004.

The Commander of the Faithful, considered a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad by millions of Muslims, has also focused on soft power, through sport, culture and tourism. Morocco, which in 2022 became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of a football World Cup, was chosen to host the African Cup of Nations in 2025. It will also co-host the FIFA World Cup. 2030, alongside Spain and Portugal.

The omnipresent Western Sahara issue

The film finally tells how the Shereef kingdom became a key player on the international scene. In addition to his historic relations with Westerners, Mohammed VI happily poses with leaders like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi. The Western Sahara issue has become the “prism” across Morocco considers its international environment. Rabat has also agreed to normalize its diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for recognition by the United States of “Moroccanness” of this disputed territory. The documentary nevertheless fails to mention the position of the Polisario Front separatists, who claim their right to self-determination on this 266,000 km² strip of sand. As well as the repression against dissent or obstacles to freedom of expression documented by human rights organizations.

Nearly 80 United Nations member states are today aligned with the Moroccan position on Western Sahara. “If the monarchy abandons the Sahara, the monarchy does not hold”explains to journalists François Soudan, editorial director of Young Africa and a fine connoisseur of the kingdom. He reveals what the king said to foreign leaders about this issue: “If you are with me, you must not do like the French. We must do like the Spaniards, the Germans and the Americans, namely that the Moroccan autonomy plan is THE most credible solution.” After years of turbulence, Paris reached the milestone in July. A diplomatic art that Mohammed VI will try to pass on to his son, Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan.