Le Monde persists in its hostility towards Morocco

Le Monde's prediction was frustrated and it lost its bet. It adopts a misleading discourse to perpetuate misconceptions and seeks to promote these rumours, which target the Kingdom of Morocco, through what we might call ‘information manipulation’ and ‘journalistic inventions’ driven by the hatred of those who support them. 

In its report published on Monday, under the deliberately provocative headline ‘The atmosphere at the end of Mohammed VI's reign’, the newspaper attempted to manipulate vocabulary to cast doubt on the king's health. It relied on old accusations to try to mislead the reader, suggesting that its authors were unaware of the nature of government in a state ruled by the Alawite nobility since 1666, with a spirit of honesty, trust and transparency between the sultans and kings on the one hand, and the people on the other, which united both sides in a single melting pot: impenetrable Moroccan nationalism. 

Le Monde's report does not demand a response, but rather a pause on some important points in the context of the work to understand the underlying narrative adopted by the two journalists:

First: Anyone who follows Le Monde's trajectory knows full well that it has specialised in launching its poisonous arrows at the Kingdom of Morocco, driven by a colonialist tendency and an attempt to leverage Moroccan influence to renew its former reputation, which had lost its lustre due to the communications revolution. Readers have the tools for deconstruction and scrutiny, enabling them to understand what is happening in the world, including in Arab and African countries, which the French newspaper has long considered prey to its misleading reports and articles written with the ink of hatred, malice and racism.

The achievements of King Mohammed VI, which are imbued with unparalleled popular loyalty, unsettle some who do not wish the Kingdom well and who are adept at attacking it from time to time.

Perhaps the French newspaper carries on its shoulders the legacy of past years and decades, when French presidents used to hide their illnesses from their people, until the truth was discovered when it was too late.

Secondly, the newspaper has chosen to turn the report into the first of six parts, through which it intends to delve into the life of King Mohammed VI and the royal family, and fabricate whatever it deems appropriate to wage a psychological war not without a whiff of hostility, which does not seem foreign to the French press's relations with Morocco, especially since 2015, when journalists Eric Laurent and Catherine Grassier were arrested and accused of attempting to blackmail the king.

Third: Attempts to attack the Kingdom by this or that party are considered a natural and expected matter in light of the gains and achievements it makes on a daily basis, and in the context of the attempt by regional parties known for their conspiracies against the Kingdom to divert attention from questions raised about their local affairs by trying to direct public opinion towards fabricated issues through the fabrication of media hoaxes, which is a matter that is no longer hidden from those who follow the systematic media campaigns and the use of modern vocabulary on social media sites and artificial intelligence and others, according to the Arabic proverb: ‘She threw her illness at me and slipped away.’

Fourth: Le Monde's report is an unforgivable professional lapse, demonstrating a lack of understanding of the close relationship between the people and the throne of the Kingdom, as well as the laws, traditions and customs that unite the king and his people, and by which the affairs of the country's government are governed, so that nothing is left to chance. As for the focus of its report on illness, it reveals a profound ignorance of how Muslims view illness when they contract it, and even more so when it is the product of a conspiratorial enemy or someone who failed to diagnose and sought justification for their erroneous positions.

For years, some writers have tried to cast doubt on the integrity of the Moroccan political process, believing that this is intended to confuse public opinion. This is despite the fact that the King has appeared at all important events to address his people or receive important guests, and has never been absent from affairs of state and society. In December, he fell while exercising, causing a traumatic injury to his left shoulder and a fracture of the humerus. It was officially announced that he would undergo surgery and subsequently undergo functional rehabilitation to recover from the injury. This means that the people are constantly informed of what is happening at the head of the state and do not need the predictions of the fortune tellers at Le Monde or other media outlets.

The newspaper has published the report in the first of six parts, through which it aims to delve into the life of King Mohammed VI and the royal family, and fabricate what is convenient to wage a hostile psychological war.

Impartial analysts and observers know that King Mohammed VI has achieved significant accomplishments for the Kingdom during his reign, covering all areas and sectors, with global repercussions. Thanks to these achievements, he has positioned Morocco among the leading emerging nations, both economically and socially, backed by a remarkable cultural and civilisational uniqueness that constitutes one of the most important symbols of soft power in the region and the world.

Anyone who follows regional and global transformations and events will be surprised by these important victories of royal diplomacy, particularly in the defence of the southern provinces and their Moroccan identity, which is unquestionable and irrefutable by any party, near or far. Similarly, the solution proposed by the King in 2007 to resolve the conflict through the autonomy initiative, which received broad international and UN support, has once again been adopted by global antagonists as part of their official agendas to understand the nature of the situation unfolding in the region.

Mohammed VI has also succeeded in establishing the concept of a democratic state through constitutional monarchy, particularly through the 2011 reforms that reduced his executive powers and gave greater authority to the prime minister and parliament. These reforms further strengthened his position as king with the rank of father, leader and symbol of national unity, and as spiritual leader through his role as Commander of the Faithful. He has also succeeded in consolidating the bright and radiant image of Islam within the Kingdom and in its African and European environment. This led the French magazine Jeune Afrique to state last May that, through reforms, institutional modernisation and the consolidation of Sufi orders, the Moroccan monarch has transformed religion into a true diplomatic tool, through a meticulous strategy combining faith, politics and African soft power. The magazine pointed out that, in Morocco, religion is not only a spiritual matter, but also a strategic tool. Since ascending to the throne in 1999, Mohammed VI has set out to transform ‘Moroccan Islam’ into a real lever of influence and a religious soft power whose benefits are difficult to measure in a ranking of the 20 best-performing countries, but are the result of a long history.

The achievements of King Mohammed VI, who has enjoyed unparalleled popular loyalty, are disturbing to those who do not wish the Kingdom well and are adept at attacking it from time to time. This is especially true now that insulting Morocco has become a source of livelihood for those who are accustomed to taking advantage of the greed of those who conspire against the territorial integrity of the Kingdom, or for those who are irritated by the fact that Morocco has achieved all these successes and accomplishments, conquering the impossible.