Rabat – A French mayor and member of the far-right National Front (FN) party has accused Morocco of terrorism in a video he posted on Facebook.
Julien Sanchez, who serves as the mayor of the city of Beaucaire in South France, expressed in a video his opposition to teaching Arabic for children of the Muslim community in France.
Sanchez said that teaching Arabic, which is conducted by teachers not trained in France but in countries such as Morocco. The French elected officials accused Morocco of “becoming in recent months a country of origin for terrorist organizations, which exposes French schools to danger.”
“We are asked to secure our schools, but we don’t know exactly who penetrates in them”, he said.
The FN mayor said he will not allocate money for such a project and will instead give a symbolic Europ as he is obliged by the law to contribute.
The mayor went even further in denying the children of the Muslim community in France to learn their language of origin and culture by saying the only language they should be taught is French.
The far-right politician’s accusation is typical of the xenophobic discourse of the party. While the FN strives to single out countries such as Morocco from where a large segment of the immigrant community in France come, the French government has a different approach.
Paris had on several occasion recognized the kingdom’s role in fighting terrorism and helping in the arrest of suspected terrorists in France.
In February 2015, during a visit to Morocco, former French minister of interior Bernard Cazeneuve described Morocco’s intelligence services as a “key partner” in the fight against terrorism.
France also sought the help of Morocco to train imams to counter the extremist ideology.
French imams are among the religious clerics who receive training in the Rabat-based Mohammed VI Institute for the training of imams.
