French Tourists Stranded in Morocco for Months as High Costs Hinder Return

While France is preparing to reopen its borders, French people who left for Morocco before the lockdown remain stranded in the kingdom since March. Without a plane, without means to pay for a boat crossing. Christian and Marie-France, a retired couple, are among them. The two French people find themselves confined 50 km from Tangier in their motorhome. They hope for the call from the French consulate to be able to return to their country.

"At night, when we go to bed, we have the phone on the bedside table," the 68-year-old Frenchwoman tells Europe 1. "If they call us and we haven’t heard the phone, it’s over." Marie-France is worried about her health. "I’m epileptic, on Depakine. My diabetes is rising to 1.70 when it shouldn’t exceed 1.20," she confides.

If the Frenchwoman displays a bit of optimism, this is not the case for her husband. Christian, he feeds on despair. Since three boat crossings have already been canceled for the couple, the same source specifies. The retiree denounces exorbitant prices: "They were asking at least 1,200 euros, up to 2,000, to make the Tangier-Sète crossing. There are French people who can’t, they don’t have the means."

Another French couple is experiencing the same situation. Josiane and her husband find themselves stuck in a campsite in the suburbs of Tangier. The motorhome owners still hope to return to France via a Tangier-Sète crossing scheduled in the next few days.