In Africa, “Emmanuel Macron is following an illegible path”writes Le Monde diplomatique in its July issue. By dint of wanting to be with everyone, the French president is with no one.
In the Maghreb, the unbalanced levers of the Élysée Palace balance are not a reality without consequences. “Having become president, he aroused their anger when in 2021 he doubted the existence of an Algerian nation. The provocation went down badly. All the worse with the people since in 2019 Mr. Macron had approved the extension of the fourth term of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika: further proof of Paris’ support for the authoritarianism that is rife in the country.”recalls the Parisian monthly which highlights the impossible balancing act in the Maghreb region. “The French president has not taken the measure of the delicate balances with Algiers and Rabat. His predecessors were careful not to give the impression of preferring one over the other. He casually alternates small gestures to the attention of both parties, without ever satisfying either party…Algeria and Morocco at least agree in judging that the Maghreb no longer figures among French priorities.” For now.
Aware that the relationship with Morocco is elementary, Paris has declared in recent months its desire “to open a new chapter in the relationship with Rabat”Stéphane Séjourné had been “personally” commissioned by the French president but his good offices were abruptly interrupted after the dissolution of the national assembly in early June.
France has sinned heavily against Morocco since 2020: halving of visas; the criticized rapprochement with an unpredictable Algeria, the vote of the European Parliament in January 2023 on press freedom in Morocco and the media attacks against national institutions. It remains to be seen whether Paris, which has promised to stand “alongside Morocco on the most sensitive issues”in this case the question of the Sahara, will have the courage to follow through with its intentions, before the end of Emmanuel Macron’s current term in 2027.
