Thawing of Relations between France and Morocco in Small Steps

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After long months of diplomatic crisis and tension, dialogue is resuming between Paris and Rabat. The two countries are now showing their desire to renew their relationship. The thaw is taking place gradually through small diplomatic steps. On Monday, Brigitte Macron, the wife of the French president, received the three sisters of the Moroccan sovereign, King Mohammed VI, at the Élysée, in a bid to “heal the emotional” according to some.

The reception at the Élysée, Monday, February 19, by Brigitte Macron, the French first lady, of the three royal highnesses of Morocco, was immortalized by a photo published on the Élysée Instagram account. A gesture that is part of “the continuity of the historical relations of friendship between the Kingdom of Morocco and the French Republic  ”, we can read in the caption. 

President Macron did not appear in the photo, but, assures the Élysée, that he came to greet the guests. This meeting follows, it is said at the Élysée, “ recent telephone exchanges between the President of the Republic and King Mohammed VI  ” which marks a warming and expresses the “new ambition” granted to this relationship.

These “ small diplomatic gestures have great importance ”

“ These small diplomatic gestures have great importance in improving relations,” welcomes Christian Cambion, president of the France-Morocco friendship group in the Senate. The head of the diplomacy Stéphane Séjourné told him that, on instructions from the head of state, he would make relations with Rabat “a priority”. Last week, the Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed, before the National Assembly, his desire to “open a new chapter in relations” with Morocco. 

According to our information, a delegation of Moroccan senators will visit France in May 2024. On the French side, it will be Gérard Larcher, the president of the Senate, who will soon be in Rabat.