French Culture Minister Backs Morocco in Heritage Dispute with Algeria

"Morocco has always adapted to its time, there is a lot of effervescence, a lot of creation, a lot of creativity," she affirmed last Saturday on the sidelines of her visit to the Moroccan pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival and her meeting with her Moroccan counterpart Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid with whom she signed a cooperation agreement in film production. She took care to specify that she herself belongs to a Moroccan family "who can neither read nor write, but who is creative" and that she has cousins who excel in Moroccan embroidery.

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The French minister of Moroccan (and Algerian!) origin will explain that Moroccan embroidery is "an intangible heritage" and feels invested in a "fight" with her Moroccan counterpart, that of "getting this Moroccan heritage recognized". She cites in particular the caftan and the zellige, the paternity of which Morocco and Algeria dispute. "Craftsmanship, know-how, clothing, the caftan, embroidery, the zellige, all these subjects are important for Morocco but they are also important for France, because today, we also benefit from them in France. So we have to get this heritage recognized and protected," she pleaded.

Following the introduction of a file filed by Algeria with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the recognition of Algerian traditional garments, including the Moroccan caftan, the Moroccan Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication filed a complaint with the same organization against its neighbor. Morocco is asking for the withdrawal of the image of its caftan from the Algerian file.