Moroccan Opposition Leader Slams France Over EU Human Rights Resolution

During an internal PJD meeting held on January 29 in Casablanca, Abdelilah Benkirane expressed his dissatisfaction with France, which would be behind the resolution calling for the release of detained journalists in Morocco that the European Parliament plenary adopted on January 19, 2023. "The current leadership of France understands nothing. There is a big difference between the current presidency and the era of De Gaulle and the others," he said in a speech to members of his party.

According to the head of the Lamp party, France has a "leadership that sees no further than the tip of its nose and eyes Algerian gas". "Morocco has no gas to give you [...] I tell them that the gas problem will be solved (in the future), but Morocco will remain Morocco: a free, strong and independent state," stressed the former head of government.

Benkirane claims not to see the attempt at reconciliation between France and Algeria in a bad light. Only, what he deplores, are the reunions between Algiers and Paris to "the detriment of Morocco". "Go ahead and reconcile with Algeria, but keep good relations with Morocco," the Moroccan politician urged, adding that Morocco is "not perfect", but it is slowly solving its problems. According to him, it is not up to European politicians to address human rights issues in Morocco. "European politicians should first take care of the problems in their own country," he said.