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Having laid the groundwork this summer by backing Morocco’s claims to the Western Sahara, French President Emmanuel Macron announced billions of dollars in new business deals and strategic energy partnerships between France and Morocco. The “honeymoon” trip caps years of sour relations between the two nations.
MARSEILLE, France (CN) — French President Emmanuel Macron’s speech in Morocco’s Parliament this week prompted a standing ovation from a government that just months earlier was on bad terms with France.
Macron arrived for his first visit to the country in six years on Monday, where he was greeted on the tarmac in Rabat by Moroccan King Mohammad VI. French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, Economy Minister Antoine Armand and Culture Minister Rachida Dati were all in tow.
Macron pledged France’s support to the Western Sahara — a disputed territory that multiple political entities lay claim to, which partially borders Morocco — to a room full of applause. Before this summer, France had been coy about choosing a side in the dispute.
Though Morocco mostly controls the territory already, the Polisario Front — a political group representing the indigenous Sahrawi population — has claimed the area and wants an independent state. The group is backed by Algeria, and is officially headquartered on its territory. Algeria has withdrawn its ambassador to France over the move, calling it “unequivocal support to the colonial rule imposed” on the region. France has deep and controversial colonial histories with both Morocco and Algeria.
“It marks a return to normal, and perhaps even an improvement,” Khadija Mohsen-Finan, a France-based political scientist in the Hicham Alaoui Foundation — a social science research foundation focused on the Maghreb and Middle East — told Courthouse News. “It means that France and Morocco have decided to close an episode of estrangement.”
But the purpose of the visit went beyond symbolism and optics.
By Wednesday, the two nations are expected to have signed roughly 10 billion euros worth of deals spanning from energy to infrastructure, along with agreements formalizing cooperation in agriculture and sustainability.
Alstom, the French train manufacturer, is expected to give 18 high-speed rail cars to Morocco. Energy companies signed agreements on renewables and deals to develop green hydrogen production. There are multiple high-profile companies involved, including France’s TotalEnergies.
To many, this “honeymoon” — how many French and Moroccan media outlets are describing the state visit — came as a surprise. For years, France and Morocco found themselves in numerous disputes; though the Western Sahara was arguably at the crux of them, the two nations had spats over spying charges and immigration issues.
Three years ago, reports surfaced that Morocco had been using Pegasus spyware to track Emmanuel Macron and others in the government. France retaliated with immigration restrictions.
“The French imposed a reduced number of visas for Moroccans coming to France, and made a link between the issuing of visas and the recovery of Moroccans who are in France without papers,” Mohsen-Finan said.
Mohsen-Finan argued that another big motivating factor was economic benefits, which the multibillion-dollar deals seem to demonstrate. On a more personal level, she said that Macron may be looking toward the end of his second term in 2027 and to his political legacy.
“Perhaps Emmanuel Macron is in his last term and didn’t want to leave the political world, or at least his presidency, with leaving France to quarrel with Morocco and on bad terms with Algeria,” Mohsen-Finan said. “So, perhaps a step had to be taken, and he did it with the recognition that this was surprising in the eyes of many people.”
For Morocco, this represents a symbolic step in its autonomy plan for the Western Sahara. In 2020, the United States recognized its sovereignty over the region in exchange for Morocco agreeing to normalize relations with Israel.
“I think that the relations will be very good for Morocco,” Mohsen-Finan said. “It needed an important country who’s a member of the security council, which is a very important element of the European Union, who recognizes the Moroccan-ness of the Sahara — especially since France has a deep knowledge of the Maghreb.”
From the French perspective, immigration is likely a motivating factor.
“It’s important for France, because Morocco controls the flow of immigration that comes from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe,” Mohsen-Finan said. “Morocco is also very present in West Africa and has good relations with the new governments of the Sahel.”
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