Rabat has denied claims that French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Morocco, amid Paris’ one-sided attempts to fix strained ties with the North African kingdom.
“Macron has neither an agenda nor a planned visit,” a government official told Morocco state news agency MAP on Saturday. “I am surprised that the French foreign minister has taken such a unilateral initiative and allowed herself the freedom to make such an announcement,” the official added.
In an interview with French channel LCI, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna claimed Friday that President Macron will visit Morocco soon at the invitation of Moroccan King Mohammed VI.
Colonna’s attempts to ease the two-year-long tensions with the kingdom did not impress Rabat, nor did Macron’s “heartfelt” speech to Moroccans.
After Morocco rejected Paris’s aid in the earthquake rescue operations, Macron made a two-minute video in French addressing the Moroccan people.
The French president said the quake shook France and Morocco, stressing that the French government was on the side of the Moroccan people and Paris had every opportunity to provide humanitarian assistance.
France pledged €5 million to aid organisations, and President Macron proclaimed his government ready to assist.
Macron’s move stirred wide criticism, with many accusing the French leader of “longing for the colonial period” in Morocco and “disrespecting” the independent country’s sovereignty.
Following the earthquake, the Moroccan government has maintained a reserved stance before accepting aid only from Spain, UAE, Qatar and the UK.
While many Moroccans criticised their government’s slow and hesitant response to the devastating natural disaster, many commentators depicted Paris’ insistence on aid as an “opportunist white saviour behaviour.”
Morocco’s selective acceptance of aid indicates a political rift and personal animosity between President Emmanuel Macron and King Mohammed VI.
