Stranded French Tourist Pleads for Help After Two Months in Morocco Lockdown

Claire Peretti arrived in Morocco on February 13 for a peaceful vacation, unaware that on March 20 she would find herself confined, making countless efforts to be able to return to France. "I went to the French Consulate in Marrakech. It was closed. You only have a phone number and an email; when you call, it’s always busy," she says, annoyed.

With the closure of airspace since mid-March, only special flights at 280€ could transport the French stranded in Morocco. "In one month, 150 special flights brought back 30,000 people to France. At least 5,000 French tourists were still waiting at the end of April to be able to return home on the weekly special flights," reports francetvinfo.

In Morocco, Claire Peretti says she is living a stricter confinement than in France. "To enter the supermarket, you need an authorization, an ID card and they take your temperature at the entrance. The SAMU comes for suspected cases and it’s straight to the hospital, test, chloroquine." She had hoped that on May 20 as announced, Morocco would end the lockdown and the state of health emergency so that life would resume its normal course. But disappointment, on May 18, the government announced the extension of the lockdown until June 10.

Meanwhile, she sees the special flights passing without being able to book a seat. "You’re stressed, you’re constantly waiting for someone to call you, you go to the shower with your phone," she says. "It’s inhumane; I’ve had the consulate three times in two and a half months. When they send you a message, it’s a robot message."

Lacking the information she needs from the embassy, she clings to social networks to follow the news of the thousands of French like her stranded in Morocco, and who say they have been abandoned by the authorities. "On May 14 and 15, there was a lot of suffering; they asked people to come to take the plane. Some have traveled 500, 600 km, and they were denied access." The reason given is that the health standards had changed, forcing the airline to take fewer passengers, reports France Info.

In addition to the anguish and stress of being stuck in Morocco, Claire has thyroid problems, and the medication she takes is not available in Morocco. But amidst all this chaos, she has a return date to France: May 22. "After that, it’s fend for yourself," she explains. Because once in Paris, flights to Corsica remain limited. But she is relieved: "I was in my car when I learned about it. I immediately parked and cried."

Far from Claire’s troubles, there is Rachida, a Moroccan native. Remained in Bastia, she is worried about her family. Her husband, her son and his pregnant wife are stuck in Morocco. The first lives in Bastia, the other two in Paris. On April 24, they were supposed to return to France on a special flight. They received a cancellation message just before departure. Since then, it’s total silence. Rachida’s husband has health problems. His medications are unavailable in Morocco. It had to be sent from France, but unfortunately the package remained blocked. And examples of this kind are legion from the French stranded in Morocco.

Faced with the mobilization carried out on social networks, the Minister of Foreign Affairs tried to provide explanations to the National Assembly last week. "There are still French people, residing in France but spending time in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia during the year. They are indeed currently in difficulty and we have decided to increase the number of flights by the national airline Air France to allow their return," he said.