Macron postpones Morocco visit, as tension rise
According to the French daily Le Monde, French President Emmanuel Macron ‘s visit to Morocco has been rescheduled and will not take place before April 20.
The publication cites the reluctance of the Kingdom to organize the visit as the reason for the delay, which will not take place before the end of Ramadan.
In December 2022, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna visited the Kingdom and announced the end of the visa crisis and the resumption of Moroccan-French consular cooperation. Macron did not travel to Morocco as planned, despite her best efforts.
In a mid-December press conference in Rabat with her counterpart, Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita, the minister confirmed that “during this visit, we discussed preparations for the visit of the President of the Republic, which will take place soon and more precisely during the first quarter of next year.”
Not only is the visa crisis affecting Franco-Moroccan relations. Rabat has chastised Paris for its ambiguous position on the Western Sahara conflict and for siding with Algeria, with whom Morocco has strained relations.
Tensions escalated after the European Parliament passed a critical resolution, which was met with strong opposition in Rabat.
The Kingdom has accused France of orchestrating an anti-Moroccan campaign in Brussels, with the resolution supported by approximately thirty MEPs from the Renew Europe group, led by Stéphane Séjourné, who has close ties to Macron.
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