Macron Heads to Morocco: High-Stakes Visit Aims to Mend Franco-Moroccan Ties

After the blatant failure of his "Algerian bet" and his desire to warm up and relaunch dialogue and cooperation with Morocco, the only stable partner in a region in full mutation, Emmanuel Macron will arrive in Rabat next Monday for a three-day state visit. His last visit to Morocco dates back to June 2017. The program of the next state visit is rich. The French president will meet King Mohammed VI and a dinner in his honor will be organized. He should also deliver a speech before the Moroccan Parliament, as former President François Hollande did in 2013, to salute the bilateral relations and turn the page on the differences that have recently affected relations between the two countries. But three conditions must be met to make this visit a lasting success.

"The first condition will be to break with the arrogant approach that has characterized Emmanuel Macron’s diplomacy since he came to power in 2017," analyzes the reactionary website Causeur. The second condition "will be to recognize Morocco for what it has become: a genuine regional power. The kingdom is no longer simply that "good student" that France and Europe congratulated on occasion," adds the author of the article. To support his argument, he argues: "In a crisis-ridden Maghreb, where Tunisia is bogged down in latent authoritarianism and Algeria remains frozen in an outdated status quo, Morocco stands out as the only stable and reliable partner. This status must be recognized, not only by France but also on an international scale."

Third condition: "Emmanuel Macron will have to arrive in Rabat with concrete and substantial proposals to give meaning and direction to this renewed alliance. It is no longer a question of dictating conditions but of negotiating as equals," estimates the publication. Thanks to the French recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara, France could conduct negotiations that will result in an agreement on the migration issue that is beneficial to both parties. The anti-terrorism cooperation between Paris and Rabat, already solid, could be intensified.

On the industrial level, Macron will plead in favor of Alstom for the Casablanca-Marrakech High Speed Line market. The French president will negotiate the acquisition of 188 Airbus aircraft by Royal Air Maroc (RAM). The difficulties encountered by the American manufacturer Boeing, particularly due to the strikes paralyzing its assembly plants in Renton and Everett in the United States, could be an opportunity for Airbus to win this big market.