Morocco’s Migrant Crisis: Diplomatic Tensions Escalate with Spain and EU

For Le Monde, everything tends to confirm that the influx of nearly 8,000 Moroccans into the Spanish enclave in less than 72 hours was planned by the Moroccan authorities. According to the publication, this episode of the diplomatic crisis between the two countries will mark Madrid and also Europe for a long time to come, despite the fact that more than 5,600 of the migrants have been repatriated to their country, the card played by Morocco will have deeply wounded Madrid beyond Brussels. Indeed, the migratory weapon used by Rabat reminds Europe of the strategy of the Turk Recep Tayip Erdogan and the former Libyan Guide, Mohamed Kadhafi. They "did not hesitate to play the migratory weapon in the Mediterranean to put pressure on Europe," recalls the editorialist before warning that "Rabat’s attitude constitutes an unfortunate precedent".

Analyzing the issue from a diplomatic prism, the newspaper recalls that Rabat had promised that the unilateral decision of Spain to secretly receive Brahim Ghali, the Polisario leader, would have consequences. And the response promised by Rabat turns out to be "the orchestrated migratory wave towards Ceuta".

For the newspaper, the Kingdom of Morocco did not hesitate to act in this way, because it feels assured by its diplomatic success on the Sahara issue. On this file, the USA, under Donald Trump, recognized the "Moroccan sovereignty" over the Sahara in exchange for the normalization of relations between Morocco and Israel.

However, warns the analyst, it is a risky bet. The influx into the Ceuta enclave of minor migrants (children and adolescents or even infants), at the risk of their lives and under the passivity of the Moroccan police, could seriously tarnish the image of the kingdom. This can appear as an act of "cynicism of a power ready to coldly sacrifice its youth on the altar of its diplomatic interests". The scenes of Moroccan migrants of all ages, ready to die rather than remain in their country, illustrate the social precariousness of a certain Moroccan population that is bending under the prevailing poverty despite the image of an emerging country that we are trying to show to the world.

Beyond the diplomatic forces and setbacks, the publication invites us to look at the kingdom realistically, taking full account of its many potentials. A gateway to West Africa and positioned at the heart of security and migration cooperation in the region, Morocco practices an enlightened Islam. Its diaspora in Europe is dynamic, sometimes influential. On the other hand, attenuates the daily, Moroccan governance is becoming more and more authoritarian, citing the imprisonment of critical journalists and intellectuals, citing the case of Soulaiman Raissouni.