The crisis between Morocco and France deepens
The delicate situation of relations between Morocco and France does not seem to be improving. According to a former French minister with ties to the Kingdom quoted by Maghreb Intelligence, in the Elysée they are well aware of the damage French President Emmanuel Macron has done to Franco-Moroccan ties, "but they stubbornly refuse to face the facts".
As far as Morocco and the Royal Palace in particular are concerned, relations with Macron have been definitively "shelved". "French analysts, who seem to have discovered this reality outside the Al Haouz earthquake, do not understand anything about the Morocco of Mohamed VI," a senior Moroccan official told the portal.
On the other hand, according to a former French ambassador in Rabat, the Moroccan king - who has a special affection for France and its culture and maintains many friendly relations in the country - "no longer wants anything to do with the President of the Elysée". "His Majesty dislikes everything related to Emmanuel Macron's position, behaviour and statements," the diplomat told Maghreb Intelligence.
The former ambassador's statements refer, for example, to the diplomatic rapprochement between France and Algeria, as well as the French rejection of Moroccan demands regarding Western Sahara, an issue on which Paris has taken a different path from other countries such as the United States and Spain. The media also recalls the French attacks on the Kingdom, including from European institutions.
This crisis has been brewing for two years, when Macron phoned King Mohammed VI to ask for explanations on the Pegasus case. At the time, the Moroccan monarch gave him his "word as king" that Morocco was innocent. "Emmanuel Macron's response was rather arrogant and unworthy of a head of state. Mohammed VI, angry, hung up on him and since then has refused to meet him or telephone him", sources tell the media.
As for the current situation, an expert on Franco-Moroccan relations claims that Macron "will not use the earthquake as an excuse to patch things up with the King", while Morocco "will just wait for him to step down as French president".
French coverage of the earthquake provokes criticism in Morocco
In this sense, the earthquake seems to have further alienated the two once allied countries. An opinion piece by Jérôme Galveli in Maghreb Intelligence entitled "the abject condescension of Emmanuel Macron and his media has greatly wounded the pride of the Moroccan people and their King" highlights Moroccan rejection of the French media's coverage of the quake.
"Once again, the French media class, with its 'enlightened analysts' and some smug NGO bosses, thought it was a good idea to strut around on TV and radio, spouting nonsense, clichés and clichés to their viewers and listeners all day long, to the shame of the most obtuse colonialist minds," Galveli denounces.
The article also highlights the "condescension" of the French media and analysts, as well as "their unfounded prejudices about the Moroccan authorities' handling of the disaster".
"Only ten hours after the earthquake, untimely and irrelevant questions were asked about the King's communications, Morocco's health structures and the authorities' strategy for dealing with the catastrophe," it adds.
They also focused on the delivery of international aid to Morocco, asking the Moroccan authorities to open the country wide "to French aid" and explaining the alleged Moroccan "rejection" of the Sahara issue, the Franco-Algerian rapprochement or the Pegasus affair.
Maghreb Intelligence recalls that, from the first moments of the earthquake, dozens of French associations and volunteer rescuers from French towns and regions went to the scene or provided aid without hindrance.
"The French media also failed to point out that their teams were working in the disaster zone in complete safety and freedom, reporting the reality on the ground without hindrance or censorship," it adds.
