Hundreds of French Tourists Stranded in Morocco as Air Traffic Suspended

"We were supposed to return on Saturday evening but our Transavia flight was canceled. This was following the closure of the airspace. The company has put flights back in place, but much more expensive (200 to 300 € instead of 60) and not all have been guaranteed," recounts to L’Alsace, Francis, a resident of Haut-Rhin. He is used to spending holidays in the Agadir region, where he owns an apartment. Like Francis, they are some 400 French people stranded in Morocco.

He is dismayed that even the intervention of President Emmanuel Macron could not facilitate their repatriation. The reason is that their attempts to obtain information about their probable return to France have been in vain. The consulate in Agadir is closed. Contacted by telephone, the consulate in Marrakech asks the tourists to "fend for themselves" each.

Francis confided that they were unable to "find a seat on board" the last flight departing from Agadir on Thursday evening. "We feel abandoned by France!" he fumes with anger. His anger is justified, in the sense that the Belgians, the English, the Germans, they have been able to be repatriated.

"I don’t know when we will be able to return. If no repatriation is organized, it will surely not be before May or June. In my case, it’s not too serious, because I have accommodation. But my wife has to go back to work on Monday..." he laments. Francis also fears being infected with the coronavirus. "The hospitals here are not like in France..." he observes.

Francis and the other tourists only want one thing: their repatriation to France. To this end, they have launched an appeal to President Emmanuel Macron.