Macron visiting Morocco amid ‘new honeymoon’ over Western Sahara pivot

Emmanuel Macron is arriving in Morocco on Monday in a much-anticipated visit to discuss diplomatic and business relations between the two nations.

Over the course of the president’s three-day visit to the North African kingdom, the French president is scheduled to meet King Mohammed VI and Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch and will address the country’s parliament.

It is Macron’s first visit to Morocco since he pivoted his stance towards Western Sahara in July, backing the Morrocan government over the nationalist Sahrawi rebel group, the Polisario Front which has been fighting Morocco in the contested region, which the UN defines as a “non-self-governing territory”.

After years of walking a diplomatic tightrope on the contentious debate over Morocco’s claim on the region, which the UN defines as a “non-self-governing territory”, Macron endorsed Rabat’s stance, pushing for semi-autonomy in the former Spanish colony “within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty”.

The move adds France to a growing list of countries aligning themselves with Moroccan authorities on the issue. In 2020, the US announced it would recognise Moroccan claims over the contested territory after Rabat normalised diplomatic relations with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords.

A year later, Morocco and France fell out after reports emerged of authorities using Israeli spyware to monitor French politicians, including Macron. Rabat vehemently denies the allegations.

Macron’s comments in July sparked diplomatic outrage from Algeria, the biggest international backer of the Polisario Front. The group has its political headquarters in Algiers.

Algiers subsequently recalled its ambassador from France and labelled Macron’s comments “unequivocal support to the colonial rule imposed on Western Sahara.” Morocco was a French protectorate from 1912 to 1956, while Algeria was its colony from 1830 to 1848 and then a part of France until 1962.

‘Warm reunion’ between strategic allies

The Moroccan press, by contrast, welcomed a “warm reunion” and “new honeymoon” between the two nations. In a statement released by the royal cabinet before Macron’s arrival, authorities in Rabat lauded “the depth of the bilateral relations, founded on a deep-rooted and strong partnership with a shared will to strengthen ties uniting the two countries”.

Morocco remains one of France’s closest allies in North Africa, maintaining strong ties in business, climate, and counterterrorism. France is Morocco’s top trading partner, and Morocco is the top destination for French investments in Africa.

While Morocco imports French cereals, renewable energy infrastructure, and weapons, Morocco exports goods to France including tomatoes, cars, and airplane parts. Trade has doubled between the two countries over the last decade and reached a record €14 billion in 2023.

During Macron’s last visit to the country in 2018, he and King Mohammed VI inaugurated Africa’s first high-speed railway, a joint operation between France’s SNCF and Morocco’s ONCF. The trains were built in France by Alstrom.

Immigration remains a thorny issue

Moroccans are the second largest foreign-born community in France, totalling over 836,000 people. North African immigrants have increasingly become the focal point for controversial debates about the roles of Islam and immigration in French society recently.

Following legislative elections in France earlier this year, which saw the far right make significant gains, authorities in Paris have pushed for the country to take a hard-line approach toward immigration.

Lawmakers in France again pushed for stricter controls after a Moroccan migrant was arrested on suspicion of killing a 19-year-old French student last month. The suspect was due to be deported following a prior conviction of rape, but this was delayed due to bureaucratic problems.

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In 2021, relations between the two countries soured after France temporarily but dramatically reduced the number of visas granted to citizens of several countries, including Morocco. Rabat suspended diplomatic relations in response.