“There will be no official visit from Macron.” Paris also hit in the face by Morocco
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna had announced a visit by President Macron to Morocco also due to the earthquake that occurred in Marrakesh which brutally damaged the city. Except that now France in general and Macron in particular are not welcome in Africa and, in any case, they are perceived as the losing side, so we are allowed to treat it like a fish in its face.
So the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Morocco “ is not on the agenda ,” a Moroccan government source stated flatly on Saturday, thus refuting the statements of the head of French diplomacy, in a context of tense bilateral relations. A sharp slap in the face to Macron and his minister.
However, in an interview with the French news channel LCI, French diplomatic chief Catherine Colonna said on Friday that President Macron had been invited by Moroccan King Mohamed VI to pay a state visit. “The King of Morocco recently invited the President of the Republic, during their meeting this summer,” he said. “The president is invited, we still have to find the right dates.” Evidently, however, the invitation was, let's say, not well understood, or it should have remained confidential, or, simply, the King changed his mind.
The French minister "gave himself the freedom to make an unconcerted announcement regarding an important bilateral deadline", denounced a source close to Morocco.
Tensions between the two countries flared up again this week after an earthquake hit the Marrakech region in the center of the kingdom, killing nearly 3,000 people. Rabat did not accept the aid proposed by Paris, provoking "controversies that have no reason to exist", Macron said. Morocco chose to receive aid from Qatar and Spain, but not from France.
Relations between Morocco and France, a former colonial power where a large Moroccan diaspora lives, have been complex since the French president tried to get closer to the Algerian, who broke off diplomatic relations with Rabat in 2021, accused of "hostile acts ”. Morocco also criticizes France for not aligning itself with the United States and Israel who have recognized the "Moroccan nature" of Western Sahara, almost 80% controlled by Morocco.
At one time there would have been an attempt to mediate, but now Paris' position appears weak throughout Africa, compounded by resentments over the colonial past. Paris is now seen as the country in which to assert one's individuality.
Thanks to our Telegram channel you can stay updated on the publication of new Economic Scenarios articles.
The article “There will be no official visit from Macron”. Paris hit in the face also by Morocco comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/non-ci-sara-nessuna-visita-ufficiale-di-macron-parigi-presa-a-pesci-in-faccia-anche-dal-marocco/ on Sun, 17 Sep 2023 16:00:02 +0000.