Doha – Dreux and Dakhla signed a Friendship Pact on Thursday, laying the groundwork for their future twinning. The agreement, signed by Dreux Mayor Pierre-Frédéric Billet and Dakhla Communal Council President Erragheb Hormattollah, symbolizes equality and mutual progress in economic and cultural domains.
The signing ceremony took place during the “Salon du Maroc” in Dreux, running from May 21-25. This exhibition showcases Moroccan craftsmanship, gastronomy, and traditions, with the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region as the featured guest of honor.
Morocco’s Ambassador to France, Samira Sitaïl, inaugurated the salon on Wednesday. She was accompanied by Dreux Mayor Billet, Dakhla-Oued-Eddahab Regional Council First Vice-President M’Barek Hammia, Centre-Val-de-Loire Regional President François Bonneau, and Dakhla Communal Council President Hormattollah.
“The region is largely represented through the various stands we have visited, where we could measure everything these Moroccan regions intend to offer to the rest of the world,” Sitaïl noted during the inauguration.
The exhibition brings together over 120 exhibitors from Morocco’s twelve regions. They display handmade carpets, pottery, and traditional jewelry. Interactive workshops allow visitors to discover Moroccan cuisine, traditional music, Arabic calligraphy, and beauty rituals.
The event is part of “L’Année du Maroc à Dreux” (Morocco Year in Dreux), launched in January. This initiative aims to highlight the human wealth of both countries in a city that symbolizes Franco-Moroccan friendship.
This municipal alliance emerges within a broader framework of subnational diplomatic engagement between Paris and Rabat. Last month, Occitanie became the first French region to formalize cooperation with Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab, signing a declaration of intent on April 24.
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The Occitanie agreement established collaboration in key sectors including economy, industry, higher education, and environment. It prioritizes aeronautics, green hydrogen, offshore wind energy, sustainable mobility, university cooperation, research, and tourism.
The day after the Occitanie agreement, Montpellier Mayor Michaël Delafosse visited Dakhla to explore business opportunities and discuss cooperation focusing on water sports, cultural exchanges, and sustainable economic projects.
The initiatives now underway translate high-level diplomatic rhetoric into actionable frameworks. President Emmanuel Macron’s formal recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the region in July 2024 aligned France with the 110 countries that back Morocco’s Autonomy Plan.
This marked the inflection point that dismantled decades of calculated ambiguity, propelling Paris from guarded neutrality to an unequivocal affirmation of Morocco’s territorial sovereignty.
These territorial partnerships crystallize France’s strategic reorientation toward Morocco’s southern provinces, serving as a concrete outgrowth of the “Enhanced Exceptional Partnership” framework concluded in October 2024 during Macron’s state visit to Rabat.
