Rabat – French parliamentarians have called for an end to the visa-driven political crisis between France and Morocco.
A delegation of French lawmakers attended a meeting in Rabat on Sunday as part of a visit organized by Franco-Moroccan Friendship Circle Eugene Delacroix (CED).
President of CED Salah Bourdi commented on the ongoing visa crisis, saying that Moroccan men and women are facing humiliation.
“This visa policy does a lot of harm since it affects the most Francophile and closest parts of Morocco to our country,” Bourdi said.
Moroccan citizens showed outrage at their government’s decision to cut the number of visas granted to Moroccans by 50%. The decision, which was put into force since September 2021, also concerns visas for Algerians and Tunisians.
The French government justified its decision by claiming that Morocco had been “unwilling” to cooperate on the extradition of irregular Moroccan migrants in France.
Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita disputed the claims, however, stressing that France’s decision to slash visas issued to Moroccans was “unjustified.”
Morocco has “always dealt with the issue of migration and the movement of individuals with great responsibility and balance,” Bourita said in September 2021, emphasizing the north African country’s commitment to facilitating the movement of students and business people.
The north African country is “strict when it comes to irregular migration, and migrants with no legal status,” Bourita said.
Senator from Pas-de-Calais Michel Dagbert, said that lawmakers should decouple the visa policy from the irregular migration crisis.
While visa restrictions are considered a direct cause for the crisis, some observers see France’s silence with regards to its position on the Western Sahara dispute as another factor for the tensions between Rabat and Paris, particularly following King Mohammed VI’s speech in August.
During the speech that commemorated the anniversary of the Revolution of the King and People, King Mohammed VI called upon other traditional partners of Morocco as well as newer ones to clarify their positions on the dispute.
“I, therefore, expect certain states among Morocco’s traditional partners as well as new ones, whose stances concerning the Moroccanness of the Sahara are ambiguous, to clarify their positions and reconsider them in a manner that leaves no room for doubt,” the King stated.
Recently, converging reports about a phone call between the King and French President Emmanuel Macron made international headlines.
Africa Intelligence said that the call “was an attempt to smooth the decidedly strained relations between Paris and Rabat.”
During the phone call, Macron reportedly expressed “willingness” to visit Morocco in an official working trip, an announcement that was welcomed by the King of Morocco.
