Eric Ciotti, leader of the Republicans, a French liberal-conservative political party, has urged his country’s government to fix the “mistakes” that have led to a notable deterioration in bilateral relations between Morocco and France.
“Today we must ensure that mistakes made and the lack of consideration shown towards Morocco are fixed,” Ciotti told the press today following his meeting with Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch.
Ciotti, who is leading a party delegation to Morocco, stressed Morocco’s importance as a key ally to the EU.
“We need Morocco, Europe needs Morocco. Europe cannot send such unfriendly messages to Morocco, we need this strong link so powerful between Morocco, the European Union and France,” the French politician stressed.
Several crises have impacted the Morocco-France bilateral relations over the past two three years, including consular services challenges, Paris’ ambiguity over Moroccan territorial integrity, and the EU parliament’s recent campaigns targeting Morocco’s judiciary.
The Paris-Rabat crisis has been growing since 2021, when France decided to slash by 50% the number of visas granted to Moroccan applicants.
In mid-December 2022, France announced the full resolution of consulate service with Rabat, a claim that has been rebuked and disputed by Moroccan associations who continue to lament the humiliating treatment of Moroccans applying for French visas.
Most recently, many MPss and politicians in Morocco suggested that France was the orchestrator of the Morocco-bashing resolution adopted by the European parliament in January. Notably, the EU parliament’s hostile campaign accused Morocco of harassing critical journalists and activists.
Amid such signs of a deepening crisis, the French government shirked its responsibility in the EU parliament’s hostile campaign. Instead, Paris accused unspecified third parties of fueling tensions between the French and Moroccan governments.
In February, France’s President Emmanuel Macron even claimed that ties between Rabat and Paris remained friendly despite reports stressing the deterioration of bilateral cooperation.
In response, however, an authorized source from the Moroccan government disputed Macron’s claims, stressing that relations between the two countries were neither good nor friendly between France and Morocco.
Visibly dissatisfied with such a pointed deterioration in French-Moroccan relations, Ciotti called for the improvement of cooperation between the two countries – stressing that the situation is “neither good for France nor for Morocco.”
The politician also expressed his party’s desire to establish a solid partnership with the Rally of Independents (RNI) political party, the leader of Morocco’s ruling coalition.
Also commenting on French-Moroccan ties, RNI leader and Morocco’s Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch stressed the need for the two countries to work together and seek to develop relations further.
But the Moroccan head of government also renewed Rabat’s rejection of the hostile campaign against the North African country. “We don’t understand what is happening in the European Parliament,” he added.
Morocco’s government and parliament have constantly expressed their condemnation of the ongoing maneuvers and hostile campaigns by the European parliament, accusing it of ill-advised interference in the country’s domestic affairs.
“Morocco is an organized country of law and is a democratic and institutionally democratic country through transparent elections, and prestigious political parties,” Speaker of House of Representatives Rachid Talbi Alami said on February 8. The official argued that the European Parliament’s allegations lacked substance and were politically motivated.
