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Morocco-France Relations Chill as French Foreign Minister Snubs Moroccan Counterpart at UN Assembly
Thursday 24 October 2019, by
Several events suggest the end of the honeymoon between Morocco and France. The reaction of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, who declined the invitation of his Moroccan counterpart during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, is a perfect illustration of this.
According to the French website, Le monde Afrique, relations between Rabat and Paris are going through a phase of freezing, especially since Jean-Yves le Driand preferred to meet with his Algerian counterpart, and declined the invitation of the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The UN Assembly, which takes place every September, has always been an opportunity for the leaders of the two countries to meet around topics of common interest. This was not the case this year.
For the first time, Paris has stood out by its silence during the discussions on the Moroccan Sahara issue and the successor to Horst Köhler, the outgoing UN envoy. This attitude, described by the site as abnormally cold, does not resemble France’s views on such a hot issue.
Questioned by the media, the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs said he "did not have information on the publication of French reports concerning relations between Paris and Rabat". These same reports express France’s fear for its economic interests in Morocco.
The contract for the extension of the High Speed Line between Casablanca and Marrakech, which, according to France, should rightfully belong to it, is causing mixed reactions in the latter, especially since the project is also arousing the covetousness of the Chinese.
Urban transport is also one of the issues that concern France, in particular the Spanish company Alsa, which has just taken over the markets of the main cities of the Kingdom.