France attempts to improve strained relations with Morocco
France attempts to improve strained relations with Morocco
Security cooperation between France and Morocco has been suspended as diplomatic relations have been strained by a series of incidents in France that have offended Moroccan politicians and officials.
2 min read
Fabius is taking the initiative to improve France's relationship with Morocco [Getty]
French foreign minister Laurent Fabius has announced he will visit Morocco in an attempt to improve relations between the two countries.
Relations have deteriorated markedly over the last year and security cooperation between the two countries has been suspended.
French officials have admitted they have concerns about the suspension of security cooperation especially after the terrorist attack on the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo newspaper. Morocco had provided useful support to France in its fight against terrorism for many years with its intensive surveillance of the Moroccan community in France, assisting in identifying and dismantling of terrorist cells.
Relations deteriorated after France summoned the head of the Moroccan secret service Abdullatif Hammouchi, on a visit to Paris in February 2014, to discuss allegations Morocco has committed acts of torture against French citizens.
Subsequent incidents include a "humiliating" inspection suffered by Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Salaheddine Mezouar at a French airport, and a member of the Moroccan opposition being allowed to barge into a Moroccan general's hospital room while he was receiving treatment in Paris.
Fabius has yet to specify a date for his visit to Morocco. The announcement he will visit Morocco was made on his Twitter account.
Reestablishing good diplomatic relations will be a challenge for French diplomats. Morocco boycotted the solidarity march in Paris in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo shootings, and Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister Salaheddine Mezouar has recently made some strongly anti-French statements.
In an interview recently published by Jeune Afrique magazine, Mezouar said that, "the age of French custodianship over Morocco is over". He also criticised "the absence of political will in Paris to place relations back on the right path".
This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.
