Morocco Shifts Focus to English Education, Moving Away from French

The disagreements and tensions between Morocco and France have certainly led the kingdom to adopt measures to strengthen the use of English to the detriment of French. At the end of September, Moroccan Minister of Industry Ryad Mezzour refused to speak in French during a conference in Marrakech. This stance by the Moroccan minister "is tangible proof that there is a national decision at the highest level to abandon the French language, which for several decades has been the second most spoken language in Morocco after Arabic, in favor of other languages, particularly English," analyzes Hiba Press cited by Atalayar.

Like Mezzour, other senior Moroccan officials such as Deputy Minister for Investments, Mohcine Jazouli, have recently spoken in English. This trend is also observed in the education sector. The government of Aziz Akhannouch presented an initiative in June aimed at introducing the use of English among first, second and third grade students from the 2025-2026 academic year. Morocco hopes to make English the main language in many subjects by 2027, to the detriment of French.

In addition to the authorities, young people also consider English to be important. According to the 2022 report of the British Council, 40% of young people in Morocco consider English the most important language, compared to 10% who prefer French. Tensions between Rabat and Paris have escalated in recent months, notably due to France’s visa policy towards Moroccans and the Elysée’s ambiguous position on the Sahara. After the September 8 earthquake, Morocco refused France’s aid, sparking a heated controversy fueled by some French media.