Mayor Shuts Down Moroccan Stand at Olympic Event After Singer’s Sahara Comments

Apparently, France’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara displeases Île-Saint-Denis. On Saturday, the mayor of the city, Mohamed Gnabaly, decided to close the Moroccan stand (Maison du Maroc) in the Africa Station (a kind of fan zone near the Olympic village) following a concert by the Sahrawi Moroccan singer Saida Charaf, during which she expressed her attachment to her native land and thanked France for the recognition of the Moroccan Sahara. On Thursday, the singer performed her song "Mani", supporting the Moroccanness of her region of origin and the allegiance ("bei’a") between the Sahrawis and the Sultans and Kings of Morocco. This was enough to annoy the pro-Algerian Green mayor. He stopped the concert before closing the stand on Saturday and banning Moroccans from the site reserved for the celebration of African athletes, artists and cultures as part of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

In a statement published on his Instagram page, the mayor justifies his decision: "[...] Politics has no place at the Africa Station. The city is completely neutral on the Western Sahara issue and refuses any instrumentalization of its position. This decision by the city in no way concerns the Moroccan people, but rather the Moroccan authorities in France who have not respected the commitments made, in disregard of good relations between peoples." He says he had "to personally intervene during the concert of the Moroccan artist to recall the spirit of neutrality, unity and fraternity of the Africa Station" due to the "inaction of the representation of the Kingdom of Morocco".

The reaction of the Moroccan Consulate General in Villemomble did not wait. In a statement posted on its X account, it describes the closure of the Moroccan stand as an "isolated act of manifest feverishness" and a "unilateral and arbitrary termination" by the mayor of Île-Saint-Denis, Mohamed Gnabaly, as "several municipal council members have spoken out against this decision". According to the consulate, the spontaneous expression of an opinion by the Sahrawi Moroccan singer Saida Charaf "does not constitute a politicization of the Games, nor an obstacle to neutrality commitments, and even less a hindrance to understanding between countries." "On the contrary: it illustrates the freedom of expression of a Moroccan artist, originally from the southern provinces, who has simply highlighted a current event of interest to France and the French, in the greatest friendship and in a spirit of conviviality welcomed by the public itself," it added. And to conclude: the consulate "which has always maintained very good relations with the elected officials of the town hall of Île-Saint-Denis, awaits apologies in the face of this serious and ill-considered slip-up by the mayor of the city and reserves the right to take appropriate measures to demand redress and restore the truth."