The Moroccan counterpart canceled Geoffroy Roux’s June 26th visit due to the diplomatic context between the two countries, thus initiating a new stage in the dissensions between Paris and Rabat.
“We do not play politics”, claimed the Medef when announcing the visit last week. If economic relations between France and Morocco had so far escaped diplomatic bickering between the two countries, this time the crisis is too deep.
The General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) explains that the cancellation is “due to the current context of Morocco-France relations which does not lend itself to this visit”. A rather frank way of saying that signs of official friendship between the two states are not welcome at the moment, which was already the case for diplomatic and political events, but not yet for the economic environment.
For several months, Morocco has no longer had an ambassador in Paris and there are many signs of Moroccan annoyance towards France.
France has attempted to build closer ties with Algeria and has not taken a strong enough position on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara, which is important to the kingdom.
Lasting for long, this crisis has thus impacted the fundamentals of Franco-Moroccan relations. France remains the second economic partner of the kingdom after Spain. However, the cancellation of this visit is a strong indication, as French companies are seeking to gain access to several lucrative Moroccan markets in rail and energy.