French Embassy in Morocco Faces Criticism Over Family Visa Denial for Wedding

"On Wednesday, 27/07, the French consulate in Morocco refused a family visit visa to my mother and grandmother to attend my brother’s wedding in Paris. This refusal spoils a once-in-a-lifetime event. Yet we have respected everything," lamented a Moroccan internet user on Twitter. Her message touched Cécile Duflot, the former French Minister of Territorial Equality and Housing. She posted a message on the same social network in which she challenged the French embassy in Morocco. "[...] The administrative machinery sometimes lacks heart or discernment, but there are always human beings capable of solving problems (and letting a mother and grandmother attend a wedding...)," she wrote.

In late September 2021, France had decided to reduce by 50% the granting of visas for Moroccans and Algerians and by 30% for Tunisians on the grounds that these three countries refuse to issue the consular laissez-passer necessary for the return of their nationals expelled from France. A decision that was also justified by the Covid-19 pandemic. Reacting to this decision, Morocco had denounced an "unjustified" measure.