France-Morocco Ties Strained as French Influence Wanes in Africa

"The rupture of the long-standing friendship between France and Morocco probably reflects new geopolitical trends, as evidenced by the decline of Paris’s influence in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger," analyzes Emmanuel Martin in an op-ed published on the gisreportsonline.com website. Relations between France and these three African countries have deteriorated after military coups. "The decline of French diplomatic influence is a key factor to be taken into account. First, its slowdown is probably linked to the reduction in the independence of foreign policy following Nicolas Sarkozy’s decision to rejoin NATO’s integrated military command in 2009," he notes, recalling that since the 1960s, "when General Charles De Gaulle withdrew France from NATO’s command structures, until the firm condemnation of the invasion of Iraq by Jacques Chirac, France’s unique diplomatic position has exerted a certain appeal on the countries of the South." An appeal that Paris has lost by adopting an Atlanticist approach.

According to the economist, there are several friction points in the bilateral relationship: Paris’ decision to halve the number of visas issued to Moroccans between October 2021 and December 2022 - [Ambassador Christopher Lecourtier recently announced that there will no longer be any limitation-]; the legal proceedings initiated against senior Moroccan officials in France in the mid-2010s and more recently leading to the suspension by Rabat of judicial cooperation with Paris in 2014-2015, the accusations of espionage using the Israeli software Pegasus against Morocco, a scandal involving allegations of corruption of European Parliament (EP) officials by Qatar and Morocco, etc.

Another point of friction: the Sahara issue. Morocco expects France to recognize its sovereignty over this territory - whose independence is claimed by the Polisario, protected by Algeria - but it remains reluctant. "Things changed in December 2020. U.S. President Donald Trump, in a complete reversal of the U.S. position, recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara in exchange for its signing of the Abraham Accords on Israeli-Arab normalization. About sixty other countries, including Germany, Spain and Israel, followed suit. But not France," says the academic.