Former French Ambassador Reveals Hassan II’s Insights on Morocco-Algeria Relations

The various paradoxes that mark the Moroccan-Algerian relations, in particular Morocco’s support for the National Liberation Army (ALN) formerly based in the Oriental region of the kingdom which turned against the latter at the dawn of Algerian independence, were at the heart of the latest episode of the podcast by Alain Juillet and Claude Medori entitled "The Algerian Enigma" with guest Xavier Driencourt, former French ambassador to Algiers. The latter revealed that he had come across an interview between French President De Gaulle (1944-1946; 1959-1969) and the King of Morocco Hassan II. "In this interview which took place in April 1962 - after the signing of the Evian Accords and before the independence of Algeria - De Gaulle questions the King of Morocco about this paradox [...] and Hassan II answers him: Algeria will be the cancer of Africa," recounts the author of "Evian face à l’étranger", a history book written from the archives of the Quai d’Orsay on the Evian Accords seen by foreigners and in particular by the French embassies.

"Hassan II apologizes in a way for having supported independent Algeria and for having supported and sheltered this border army, explaining: we are Muslims, we were both colonized by France, they are our brothers, we helped them, but I am well aware that it will now be a problem for us," comments the French ambassador to Algiers from 2008 to 2012 and from 2017 to 2020. Alain Juillet questions him further: "The military from the outside took power and it is with the country that had helped them the most that they got tangled up." The French diplomat replies: "It’s surprising and it’s been going on since the 1950s."

The Sahara issue and Algeria’s desire to have access to the Atlantic are part of the interview. Algeria’s ambitions do not stop there, believes Drienc