French Couple Stranded in Morocco for Two Months Amid COVID-19 Border Closures

Arrived in Morocco since March 8, 2020 for a 15-day stay, Jérôme Chapoul and Michèle Monfrino are stuck in Boujdour, 500 km south of Agadir. The closure of Morocco’s borders is preventing this couple from returning to France. They are forced to adapt to the new life due to the confinement which is not easy to live. They feel abandoned, as it is difficult to get reliable information from the consulate, which is difficult to contact. Jérôme does not know if his Nader-Sète ferry ticket, booked for May 12, will be valid, he worried.

Despite the hospitality and solidarity of the Moroccan population and administration, Jérôme Chapoul and Michèle Monfrino are going through a very precarious material situation. While in Bruniquel, where Jérôme Chapoul is very popular, the friendly neighbors are taking care of their animals. Jérôme Chapoul, a resident of Nouals, recounts that on the road to Dakhla, in the far south, on March 15, campers talk to them about the implementation of confinement in Morocco, as there are cases of COVID-19. We decided to go back up while staying tuned to the news, he said.

On March 16, accompanied by three French camper vans and a young Spanish couple, the couple is informed that the Mauritanian border and the city of Darkhla are closed. And from March 20, it will be the turn of Morocco’s maritime and air borders. A saturation of ports, campsites in northern Morocco due to roadblocks to limit traffic will be observed. The couple’s return to France is mortgaged, place for registrations on government service links for a way out of the crisis.

No longer allowed to leave Boujdour due to the implementation of confinement on March 20. The couple welcomed the confinement in a temporary installation at the Boujdour campsite, alone, but with communication networks and a minimum of comfort, recounts Jérôme Chapoul. I have the chance to have one of the three exit permits from the campsite for food shopping, says Jérôme Chapoul, who indicates that they are contacting the French diplomatic services to register on the links. Pending a possible way out of the crisis, social networks are their only allies, to keep in touch and stay informed.