A new stage in the dissensions between Paris and Rabat. The head of the French employers’ organization Medef Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux saw his June 26 visit canceled by his Moroccan counterpart because of the diplomatic context between the two countries. A context that now affects economic circles.
We do not play politics, claimed the Medef when announcing the visit last week. If economic relations between France and Morocco had so far escaped diplomatic bickering between the two countries, this time the crisis is too deep.
Contacted by RFI, the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) explains that the cancellation is “due to the current context of Morocco-France relations which does not lend itself to this visit”. A rather frank way of saying that official signs of friendship between the two states are not welcome at the moment, which was already the case for diplomatic and political events, but not yet for the economic environment.
For several months, Morocco no longer has an ambassador in Paris and there are many signs of Moroccan annoyance towards France.
In question in particular: the attempts of French rapprochement with Algeria or the not favorable enough position of France on the question of Western Sahara, dear to the kingdom.
By dint of lasting, this crisis has therefore reached the fundamentals of Franco-Moroccan relations: France is still the second economic partner of the kingdom behind Spain. But the cancellation of this visit is a strong symbol, in a context where French companies covet several important Moroccan markets in rail or energy.
