A three-day trip to relaunch the bilateral relationship after three years of crisis. During his stay in Morocco, from Monday October 28 to Wednesday October 30, Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by a plethoric delegation, notably mentioned the question of Western Sahara and the fight against illegal immigration. Numerous commercial agreements have also been signed by French groups. Franceinfo summarizes what to remember from this visit.
The reaffirmation of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara
During a speech before the Moroccan Parliament in Rabat, Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed Tuesday that “the present and the future” from Western Sahara “are part of the framework of Moroccan sovereignty”. A decision welcomed by Moroccan elected officials. This former Spanish colony, located in the south of Morocco and which also has borders with Algeria and Mauritania, has been considered a “non-autonomous territory” by the UN since the departure of Spain in 1976, at the end of the Franco regime. The claim to its sovereignty pits Morocco against the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria.
The United States, Spain and Germany have already recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over this territory. Emmanuel Macron, who had already taken a step towards Morocco in July, also spoke of French investments in the region to support this recognition. “Our operators and our companies will support the development of these territories through investments, sustainable and solidarity initiatives for the benefit of local populations”he said. This territory of 266,000 km2 is renowned for its natural resources, notably phosphate, as well as for its Atlantic coast full of fish.
If Emmanuel Macron affirmed that the “position” from France “is not hostile to anyone”this recognition does not please Algeria. In July, Algiers decided to withdraw its ambassador to Paris following France’s outstretched hand towards Morocco. The Algerian press has criticized Emmanuel Macron’s visit and statements in recent days. “The French president is banking on a more dynamic country [le Maroc plutôt que l’Algérie]a more stable and diversified economy, where French companies have a very important place“, explains to Challenges the Moroccan economist Abdelmalek Alaoui. The latter describes as “huge” the potential of Western Sahara for French companies, in particular “in renewable energies and especially in solar”.
A partnership to fight against “illegal immigration”
France and Morocco have also “knotted” and “strengthened partnership” pour “fight against illegal immigration”, according to the President of the Republic, who mentioned “a demand for results”. Emmanuel Macron spoke of the fight against “all forms of trafficking”such as organized crime or “drug trafficking [qui] weakens both shores of the Mediterranean.
During this visit, the French Minister of the Interior met his Moroccan counterpart, Abdelouafi Laftit, to discuss the repatriation of Moroccan nationals expelled from France. Bruno Retailleau said he wanted “shorten deadlines” et “do better in terms of the number of people readmitted”. The question of struggle “against the sectors” and the “surveillance of land and sea borders” was also mentioned.
The migration issue was among the reasons for the tensions existing between Paris and Rabat for several years, recalls Agence France-Presse. LFrance had halved the number of visas granted to Moroccans in 2021-2022 to push the kingdom to take back more of its nationals expelled by the French authorities.
Signing of numerous commercial agreements
The French delegation led by Emmanuel Macron included more than 120 guests, 36% of whom were representatives of the economic and industrial world, according to the survey by “L’Œil du 20 Heures”, which noted the controversial presence of certain personalities. The Elysée announced that this visit had made it possible to conclude several contracts and investment agreements, the amount of which reached “more than 10 billion euros”. They concern very large French companies (EDF, Engie, TotalEnergies, CMA CGM, Alstom) in the railway sector, renewable energies and even the energy transition. For comparison, trade between the two countries reached 14 billion euros in 2023, according to Jean-Charles Damblin, director general of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Morocco, quoted by the Moroccan newspaper’s website. Eco inspirations.
The Egis group will work on the construction of the second section of the Tangier-Marrakech high-speed train line, while Alstom will provide train sets. The oil giant TotalEnergies announced that it had signed an agreement for the “development of the hydrogen sector” green in Morocco, while EDF will “continue the development of wind energy production capacities in Morocco”according to an Elysée document cited by AFP. The maritime carrier CMA CGM will invest in the operation of the Nador West Med port terminal, in the north of the country. The boss of Medef, Patrick Martin, welcomed in The Tribune these agreements, emphasizing that “France is Morocco’s second economic partner.”
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