Relations between Morocco and France were invited to the press conference of French President Emmanuel Macron, held on Monday in preparation for his trip to Central Africa which begins on Wednesday. After having reaffirmed his “wish is to continue with Morocco”, Macron declares that he does not know where the tensions with Morocco come from.
French President Emmanuel Macron says he does not know where the tensions with Morocco come from. However, he is convinced that “there are many people who have an interest” in seeing Franco-Moroccan relations fail.
The French president made the statement during a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Monday. The press briefing took place on the eve of a tour of central Africa and was dedicated to the tumultuous relations between his country and its former African colonies.
France is in open crisis with its two main Maghreb partners: Morocco and Algeria. The two countries no longer have ambassadors in Paris. Rabat officially terminated Mohamed Benchaaboun’s duties on January 19. For its part, Algeria recalled its ambassador for consultations on February 8 following the exfiltration of the militant Franco-Algerian journalist Amira Bouraoui. It was the second time in a short time that Algiers recalled the ambassador out of dissatisfaction.
“My wish is really to continue with Morocco,” Macron said. The French head of state says he spoke about it with the king of Morocco, Mohammed VI. “We have had several conversations, there are personal relations which are friendly and they will remain so. But there are always people trying to highlight incidents, scandals in the European Parliament,” he added.
“Is this the work of the French government? No ! Did France add fuel to the fire? No ! Macron insisted. Despite the controversies, he hopes to continue the relationship with Morocco.
However, Macron’s statement contradicts that of Lahcen Haddad, chairman of the Morocco-European Union (EU) joint parliamentary committee. The diplomat had openly accused French MP Stéphane Sejourné, chairman of the Renew group, of being the architect of the controversial EU resolution against Morocco. The French politician works closely with Macron and is also secretary general of LREM, Macron’s party.
During the press conference, Macron dodged the question about the date of his planned visit to Morocco. The visit was announced in January and then postponed to February. To date, no date has been announced by the Elysée, which has since been the only one to announce dates.