Macron in Morocco: a new phase of fruitful relations between Rabat and Paris
- Strategic sectors and Africa in the spotlight
- Franco-Moroccan relations: longevity and proximity in figures
- An exceptional partnership and various sectors of cooperation
- Key figures in Macron's official delegation to Morocco
The state visit of the President of the Republic of France, Emmanuel Macron, to Morocco, from 28 to 30 October, is part of the ambition of the two countries to rebuild and consolidate the exceptional partnership that unites Paris and Rabat.
Macron's visit to the Alawi kingdom, described by the French press as a ‘voyage of reconciliation’, is a major event in the history of bilateral Franco-Moroccan relations.
The three days will seal the new stage of the multidimensional partnership that links the two partners; moving from a commercial logic to an industrial partnership interested in technology transfer, the development and co-development of solutions and shared innovation.
Throughout this visit, and through high-level meetings between Moroccan and French officials and scheduled business meetings, Morocco and France will focus on the sectors of the future, sign structuring partnerships, and announce new investments and economic territories.
The visit will also be an opportunity ‘sine qua non’ to reinforce the French position on the Sahara question, renewing its support for the Autonomy Plan proposed by Morocco as a definitive solution to the conflict, which France considers to be the condition capable of ensuring the present and future of Western Sahara within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty.
Strategic sectors and Africa in the spotlight
This visit marks a major evolution in the economic relationship between Morocco and France by establishing new economic paradigms that focus on strategic sectors with high added value and situate the African continent as a land of opportunities for the prosperity and expansion of French and Moroccan companies.
Among the economic domains that are of great importance at the international level and on which both Morocco and France are betting for successful sustainable development, the following stand out:
- Transport and infrastructures.
- Creative industries.
- The economy and digital transformation.
- Training and talent.
- Technological innovation.
- Research and development.
- Decarbonisation of the economy, agriculture and optimal management.
In this regard, the economic delegation accompanying the French President on his official visit aims to finalise important agreements in different areas such as:
- Rail transport with Alstom
- Aeronautics with Airbus
- Energy with TotalEnergies and Engie
- Environment with Suez
- Defence and space technologies with Thales
- Telecommunications with Orange
- Maritime transport with CMA CGM
These major groups present during Macron's official visit intend to work with their Moroccan counterparts to develop a strong investment partnership on the African continent; through tripartite cooperation in Africa or joint agricultural projects in cooperation with OCP, in search of shared technological solutions in order to achieve the desired sustainable development.
Franco-Moroccan relations: longevity and proximity in figures
Bilateral relations between France and Morocco are distinguished by their longevity and proximity, thanks to several historical, economic and cultural factors:
- France was the first European country to send a consul to Morocco, in the 14th century.
- 73,000 Moroccan soldiers were part of the French army at the time of the landing in Provence.
- King Mohammed VI's first state visit abroad was to France in March 2000.
- Macron's first bilateral visit outside Europe was to Morocco in June 2017, followed by another in November 2018 for the inauguration of the high-speed line linking Tangier to Kenitra.
- French Embassy in Rabat and several consulates general in Agadir, Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, Rabat and Tangier.
- 42 French schools employing more than 3,465 teachers, with nearly 49 million students, two thirds of whom are Moroccan, in the 2024 school year.
- More than 12% of the world network of French schools is in Morocco and 70% of high school graduates choose France as their destination for their studies.
- France is the first destination for Moroccan students to study abroad (+13% of the total number of foreign students in 2022), particularly in engineering and business schools.
- 12 French institutes.
- The French community in Morocco is the largest of the three Maghreb countries, and the ninth largest in the world (53,562 registered members in 2023).
- 1,000 French companies are present in Morocco, employing nearly 150,000 people.
- Trade between France and Morocco will grow by 5% to reach 14.1 billion euros in 2023.
- France is the Kingdom's main source of foreign currency and remains the leading foreign investor in Morocco.
- Morocco is the first country of intervention of the AFD (French Development Agency) group in the world, with 3.7 billion euros committed by the end of 2021, distributed among 48 borrowers.
An exceptional partnership and various sectors of cooperation
Both the 22 partnership agreements signed in 2019 and the agreements to be finalised during Macron's official visit aim to implement several areas of cooperation focusing on youth, professional integration, training and employment, economic development and regional competitiveness, decentralisation and mobility, climate and the environment, and joint outreach.
Economic cooperation:
- Morocco is France's leading trading partner in North Africa (customer and supplier), and 19th worldwide.
- France is Morocco's number one trading partner and the number one foreign investor in Morocco worldwide, its number one customer and its number two supplier.
- France is the first provider of tourist income, the first country of origin of foreign currency transfers of Moroccans living abroad.
- The Kingdom of Morocco is the leading African investor in France.
Cooperation on energy transition:
- France and Morocco are very committed to energy transition; so that France will totally abandon coal by 2027, while Morocco has a strong ambition for renewable energy and wants to increase its electricity production to 52% by 2030.
- France and Morocco are also working very closely together in the field of decarbonised hydrogen through a structured partnership between the Institute for Research in Solar Energy and New Energies (IRESEN), the Paris-Saclay Technology Transfer Acceleration Company (SATT Paris-Saclay) and the French Development Agency (AFD), which was signed in July 2024.
Cooperation in urban, rail, road and maritime transport. The high-speed line (LGV) Casablanca-Tangier via Rabat (186 km), inaugurated in 2018 is a successful model of this cooperation pending extension of the line to Marrakech and Agadir.
Cooperation in the agricultural field:
Franco-Moroccan cooperation on climate change adaptation and the consolidation of partnership between private companies in the agricultural sector.
Cooperation on security and the fight against illegal immigration:
Migration management is an important aspect of Franco-Moroccan cooperation.
Cooperation in education, universities, research and innovation
- The reintroduction of French at all levels of education, starting at the earliest age, as part of the new Moroccan ‘Education 2026 Plan’, which provides for a new loan of 130 million euros and a new grant of 4.7 million euros to support the implementation of the 2022-2026 Roadmap of the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sport.
- France and Morocco are working together to structure a university offer adapted to the needs of the country and the African continent. The aim would be to reach 500 double degrees by 2030 and to extend the recognition of degrees obtained in Morocco by French institutions through inter-university partnerships.
- France is Morocco's leading scientific partner (nearly 13,000 co-publications in the period 2013-2022); advocating cooperation that aims to valorise innovative research with an impact on sustainable development and priority innovative scientific areas: water, ecological transition or artificial intelligence.
- The renewal of French research in Islamology is also one of the objectives of the scientific research cooperation in which the Centre Jacques-Berque de Rabat (CJB) is involved.
Key figures in Macron's official delegation to Morocco
The ministers accompanying Macron on his official visit to Rabat are:
- Bruno Retailleau, Minister of the Interior
- Ana Genetet, Minister of National Education
- Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs
- Rachida Dati, Minister of Culture
- Sébastien Lecornou, Minister of the Armed Forces
- Antoine Armand, Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry
- Annie Genevard, Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry
- Patrick Hetze, Minister of Higher Education and Research
- Olga Givernet, Minister attached to the Minister for Ecological Transition, Energy, Climate and Risk Prevention, with responsibility for Energy.
As for the parliamentarians and elected officials, they are:
- Naïma Moutchou, Member of Parliament for Val-d'Oise (fourth constituency) and Vice-President of the National Assembly
- Bruno Fuchs, Member of Parliament for Haut-Rhin (6th constituency) and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee
- Karim Ben Cheikh, Member of Parliament for the French outside France (9th constituency) and former President of the France-Morocco Friendship Group of the National Assembly
- Christian Cambon, Senator for Val-de-Marne (Ile-de-France) and President of the France-Morocco Senate Friendship Group.
The most important institutional players present in the French delegation in Rabat are:
- Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO
- Élisabeth Claverie de Saint Martin, President and Director General of the Centre for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD)
- Patrick Martin, President of the French Business Movement (MEDEF)
- Rémy Rioux, Director General of the French Development Agency (AFD)
- Claudia Scherer-Effosse, Director of the French Agency for Education Abroad (AEFE)
- Valérie Verdier, Director of the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD).
These are the companies accompanying Macron on his state visit to Morocco
- Transport and Logistics : Port Marseille Fos, Transavia, Alstom, CMA CGM, Airbus International and Colas
- Energy and Environment: Veolia, Hy24, Egis, HDF Energy, NW, Engie, MK Energies, STOA, Total Energies, Netzero and Suez.
- Agriculture : M2i Lifescience, Mycophyto, Intercéréales and Avril
- Defence : Thales Alénia Space, Xsun and Safran
- Telecommunications : Orange and InfraNum
- Media : Lagardère and France Média Monde
- Gaming : Webedia, Spiders, Syndicat national du Jeu vidéo, France eSports and Level link Partners
- Catering and Event Organisation : GL Events
- Consulting: Alphee Consulting and Arduina Partners
- Engineering: Segula Technologies
- Health: Sanofi
- Artificial Intelligence: XXIII