Anti-French anger blows over Morocco

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Calls for the boycott are raining down on France these days from the Muslim world in reaction to President Emmanuel Macron’s latest speech. In Morocco too, this movement aimed at the “made in France” begins when the fall of firm official condemnations against the caricatures of the prophet of Islam.

On October 23, in Gulf countries, mainly Kuwait and Qatar, the campaign to boycott French products continues to gain ground in “land of Islam”.

Offended by the speech delivered by President Emmanuel Macron on October 21, during the official tribute paid by France to Samuel Paty – the professor beheaded for showing in class the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad from the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo -, many Muslims express their anger against France. And in particular against the commitment of the French President ” not to renounce cartoons “.

In Morocco, the discontented especially display their disapproval on social networks where the hashtags “BoycottFrance”, “everything except the prophet of God” and “the prophet is a red line” are shared in abundance. These publications are accompanied by the portrait of the French Head of State crossed out with a red cross, as well as French products to be boycotted. The flow is such that they are at the forefront of trends on the virtual platforms Facebook and Twitter.

“#Moukatioun” bis? (movement on repeat)

In the Cherifian kingdom, these invites to boycott French products recall the “#Moukatioun” movement . Launched anonymously on social networks in 2018, he had surfed the general dissatisfaction in the country against the high cost of living. In particular, mineral water, a brand of dairy products and a fuel distributor had been targeted by this boycott because of their “exorbitant” prices.

The impact was heavily felt on the companies concerned. They had to carry out long crisis communication campaigns to calm the spirits. Moreover, to mark the occasion, some members of the current boycott movement directed against France draw a parallel with “#Moukatioun”.

For Mohammed Masbah, director of the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis (MIPA), an independent research center on public policies based in Rabat, this new movement has very little connection with the 2018 campaign. It rather resembles, according to him, to other boycott calls launched in Morocco in 2005. At that time, the trigger was the publication by a Danish media of cartoons of Muhammad.

In #Moukatioun, we defended the purchasing power of citizens while denouncing the greed of boycotted companies and their proximity to the government. It was, therefore, a movement of social, even political, protest. In this new anti-French campaign, the question is mainly of a religious nature, ”nuances the Moroccan analyst at Sputnik’s microphone.

One of the few characteristics that these two protest movements share, according to the Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center, is social networks. “ They were born and have been known and recognized in society thanks to these platforms,” says Masbah. However, their capacity to mobilize is not at all the same.

“For the moment, there are no real indicators of success concerning the boycott of French products by Moroccan citizens. Mobilization is mainly virtual and does not translate into actions on the ground. Moreover, we do not yet see its impact on the shelves of hypermarkets or grocery stores, as was the case for the movement of 2018, ”he compares.

Moroccan political scientist and sociologist specializing in Islamism and political sociology, Mohammed Masbah believes that these calls must nevertheless be taken very seriously.

These are spontaneous reactions from a dominant conservative category of Moroccan society, which can be amplified at any time by a snowball effect. Especially since Moroccans have already had the successful experience of the boycott in 2018, ”he warns.

Shy mobilization and official criticism

In Morocco, in addition to the virtual calls for a boycott, official voices seem to react indirectly to the remarks made by Emmanuel Macron by denouncing the controversial cartoons. The Moroccan Foreign Ministry issued a short statement on October 25. ” Morocco strongly condemns the continuation of the publication of cartoons outrageous to Islam and to the Prophet “, one can read there. The kingdom also denounces ” acts which reflect the immaturity of their authors “.

The country recalls that the freedom of some ends where the freedom and beliefs of others begin. The head of the Moroccan government Sâadeddine El-Othmani contented himself with sharing the same statement on his Twitter account.

By analyzing this official reaction, Mohammed Masbah believes that Morocco is playing the card of appeasement internally. ” Rabat has chosen to adopt a special strategy which aims mainly to absorb the anger of citizens and calm the spirits “, summarizes the researcher of the Carnegie Middle East Center. He affirms that this position is mainly motivated by the religious factor:

“Morocco, as a predominantly Muslim country where Islam is the state religion and where the king is the commander of believers, felt compelled to put itself in the spotlight. Because it is a matter of religious and theological positioning. Especially since in Moroccan society, largely conservative, religious issues are politicized, and the state takes them into account. Rabat cannot, therefore, go against the general feeling which is dominated by the shock with regard to the French official position, ”adds the director of MIPA.

As if to give a religious basis to the Moroccan reaction, the Superior Council of Ulema of the kingdom also rejected and denounced ” any form of attack on the sacredness of religions, at their head the prophets who have transmitted to all humanity the values ​​of love, fraternity and solidarity between people ”.

Tensions between friendly countries 

Asked about the impact of this Moroccan position on its relations with France, Mohammed Masbah affirms that if the kingdom allows itself to launch a spade towards its old diplomatically and first economic partner, it has not gone too far either. far.

“It is a measured position taken on the part of Morocco. The kingdom has chosen to criticize in a virulent way, but indirectly, the French decision at the official level without calling for a boycott. It is a freedom that the country can afford given the good relations it has with France, even if Rabat knows full well that its critics risk creating tensions with Paris. Moroccan officials could tell themselves that at worst, it could only be a fleeting episode, ”concludes the Moroccan political scientist and sociologist.

For the moment, the only political reaction from Paris to criticism of Morocco is that of Nadine Morano, expressed via her Twitter account. The former French Minister and MEP LR invite the Kingdom to “take back its young minors who entered France illegally”.

More measured, the official statement of the Quai d’Orsay that was published on October 25, is limited to asking the governments of the countries of the Middle East to “put an end to the calls for boycott”. Morocco is not even directly or indirectly targeted.