King Hassan II’s Legacy Endures: Millions View Late Moroccan Monarch’s Speeches Online

Hassan II is a reference from which the generation of Moroccans who knew him and the younger generation born in 1999 after his death, draw positions and opinions on current national and international issues. The videos documenting the speeches and press conferences of the sovereign on current political issues such as the Moroccan Sahara file, the recent Moroccan-French crisis, or relations with Israel published on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, his eloquence, as well as his political wisdom, command admiration.

Many Moroccans have watched videos of King Hassan II during the diplomatic crisis that lasted for months between Morocco and France. Whenever a political or historical question related to the legacy of King Mohammed VI’s father is raised, videos or video clips are republished on Facebook, X and Tiktok. And Moroccan Internet users cannot help but comment on these republications that evoke the political wisdom of the late king, but also some of the famous choices he had made in the face of the crises that Morocco had to face during his reign.

The same observation is made in schools and universities where the speeches of Hassan II are subjects of analysis for many students who try to understand the sensitive phases of Morocco’s modern history. But it is not only Moroccans who are showing interest in the videos documenting the speeches and press conferences of the late Hassan II. The late king enjoys a reputation that goes beyond Moroccan borders. "Hassan II also arouses the curiosity of foreigners who, through these excerpts, discover a cultivated and modern king, capable of facing difficult diplomatic challenges," it is noted.