French Mother Reunites with Children After 57-Day Ordeal in Morocco

"Among 1,400 French nationals identified, I learned on May 1 that I had been selected by the French Consulate General in Marrakech. I cried with joy when I heard the news!" Mimouna tells La République du Centre.

On Wednesday, May 6, she headed to the Marrakech airport. Equipped with her ticket at the fixed price of 280 euros, she can finally return to Orléans. "On site, we were all masked and we heard the health instructions on the loudspeakers on a loop to maintain a safe distance. The atmosphere was sad, oppressive, heavy. This is not a typical vacation return...", recounts the Orléans resident.

She boards an Airbus A320 chartered by Air France to accommodate 174 passengers. "There wasn’t a single empty seat," Mimouna remembers. The plane lands at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport where her cousin, an Uber taxi driver, was waiting for her. He takes her to the Tours airport, where she had parked her car when she left on March 11.

"Once in France, I called my children to warn them of my return, because I didn’t want to get their hopes up after my five canceled flights. My son, Oissim, confined at our home in Orléans, couldn’t believe it. My daughter, taken care of by my sister-in-law in Sandillon, screamed with joy. It was very moving," says this mother. She finally returns home after traveling 115 km. "It’s exactly midnight. I’m relieved. I’m finally home," she says, "disoriented".

She finds her children and the joy of being among her own. But she still has her gaze turned towards Morocco. She thinks of Alan, still stuck in Morocco. "I feel guilty, because the adventure had started with two of us and I’m returning alone. I won’t give up until Alan comes back," she promises.