Former Moroccan PM Slams French Language Education Law, Urges Party Leader to Resign

At an internal meeting of the PJD youth on Sunday, the former secretary general of the party stressed that the PJD, now led by El Othmani, "is no longer the same", reports the daily Akhbar Al Yaoum. Benkirane also claims to have decided to boycott the meetings of the national council, to avoid a clash with El Othmani, after the favorable vote on the framework law.

"I could not accept his point of view on this text, and I never will. But what hurts me even more is that he takes great pride in it, when he should have been ashamed to have validated this text," fumed the former Head of Government, who believes that the party’s visions and orientations are no longer the same. The vote on this law amounts to denying its Arab-Muslim identity, because "no state has ever renounced its national language in favor of a foreign language," he insisted.

The newspaper, known to be close to Benkirane’s clan, reports that the latter clearly invites Saâd-Eddine El Othmani to "resign if he believes he is forced to make a decision contrary to his convictions". The former PJD secretary general hinted that he had refused, as head of government, to succumb to the pressure of parties in favor of the laws passed.

The former PJD boss acknowledged that there is a decline in his party, within which he has no intention of putting an end to it, nor of evading his responsibilities.