Morocco Recalls Ambassador to France Amid Diplomatic Tensions

Presented by the press as a promotion, the departure of Mohamed Benchâaboun from his post as Morocco’s ambassador to France would be a way for Rabat to show its dissatisfaction with many recent actions taken by Paris that seem to confuse its position on the Sahara. In addition to the appointment of the French ambassador to Rabat, Hélène Le Gal, to the North Africa and Middle East Directorate within the European External Action Service (EEAS), the last few months have been marked by a sudden rapprochement between Paris and Algiers, to the detriment of Rabat.

If during the terms of Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande, there was no doubt about France’s position on the Sahara, this is no longer the case today with the current president. Rabat looks unfavorably on the fact that its strategic ally France has been outmaneuvered by the United States and Spain on the Sahara issue. For King Mohammed VI, the position of his allies on the issue should not suffer from any ambiguity. The cold between the two countries has worsened with the halving of the quota of French visas granted to Moroccan citizens.

Paris justifies the decision by a concern to compel Rabat to accept the repatriation of their "undocumented" citizens, but for the Moroccan authorities, it is only the extension of an unspoken crisis between the two countries. During a working visit to Morocco, French Minister Olivier Becht stated in an interview with L’Économiste that he had come to settle certain issues, including those related to visas, which are the subject of protest and outrage.

Morocco is awaiting a clear position from France on the Sahara, and this will be possible at the end of this October on the occasion of the debate on the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Organization of a Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).