Morocco Travel Plans Disrupted: French-Moroccans Cancel Summer Trips Amid COVID-19 Restrictions

Sofiane El Idrissi, Saïd Lafraikh, Bouzcri and Karine El Idrissi, 4 French of Moroccan origin had to postpone their trip due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The restrictions imposed by Morocco to curb the spread of Covid-19 are quite constraining and prevent them from going to the other side of the Mediterranean this summer, reports la Nouvelle république. These are the confinement imposed on the major Moroccan cities, the still present health risks as well as the canceled flights or the ferry that must now be taken from Sète.

These Moroccan nationals will unfortunately not be able to visit their family and enjoy the sun. For Moulay Elhadi Bouzcri El Idrissi, who has been president of the Franco-Moroccan Friendship Association of Niort and the Deux-Sèvres since 2012, the disappointment is great. Covid-19 is preventing him from seeing his mother this year.

Like his other friends, he had planned to go as usual to the other side of the Mediterranean with his wife Karine and their children. While they were supposed to leave last April, they were "forced to cancel since we were confined". "I have all my family in Morocco. I am very disappointed not to see my mother this year, like my five brothers," he regrets.

For his part, Saïd Lafraikh, a friend of the El Idrissis, should return to the Kingdom to celebrate Eid there. Unlike Moulay Elhadi Bouzcri El Idrissi, this Moroccan, originally from Kenitra, had spent a week in March with his wife’s family. He returned to France just before the lockdown. "Of course, we would have liked to celebrate Eid there, but it was not possible to join Morocco and it was a health risk," he specifies.

If summer vacations in Morocco are impossible, these Moroccan nationals have a Plan B. They prefer to stay in France to enjoy the Atlantic coast, less than an hour’s drive from Niort. Pending the enjoyment of his vacation nearby, Sofiane, the eldest son of the El Drissis, benefited from a week of camping in La Tranche-Sur-Mer with friends. He offers their guests the pool of his parents as a consolation prize: "We are still lucky to have nice weather and a lot of things nearby, to be close to the west coast".

In the absence of Morocco, Jamal, his niece and her husband, left Paris for a few days. "We take our holidays in France, with family or family friends over several generations," recalls Jamal Imhidi. "It’s an opportunity to see the region, to visit Niort and La Rochelle," he adds. Proximity tourism, to be sure, but always with barrier gestures, specifies the same media.