The End of the Visa Crisis Between Morocco and France: Causes and Repercussions

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who is on an official visit to Rabat, announced on December 16 that the visa crisis that has troubled diplomatic relations between Morocco and France for more than a year has ended.

Colonna said, in a joint press conference with her Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, after talks between them: “We have taken measures, with our Moroccan partners, to return to full cooperation in the field of migration,” and she explained that this decision “entered into force since last Monday, December 12. She pointed out that she was happy with that, according to AFP.

Colonna said that the consultations with her Moroccan counterpart resulted in measures being taken to return the situation to normal with regard to the issue of visas, pointing out that Morocco and France jointly decided to restore consular activity to provide visas in a normal way and that the administrative authorities will carry out their work on this basis in a regular and legal way.

 

Visa Crisis End

For his part, the Moroccan Foreign Minister explained that Morocco refrained from commenting officially on those measures (reducing the number of visas) that were taken by the French authorities unilaterally out of respect for its sovereignty, and of course there were popular reactions by the people concerned.

Colonna’s visit to Morocco comes after what is described as the “silent crisis” that has been hanging over the relations between the two countries for nearly two years, and one of its most prominent manifestations was the freezing of visits by officials of the two countries, the absence of any contact between the leaders of the two countries, and the occurrence of a diplomatic vacuum in the past September and October after assigning the ambassadors of Paris and Rabat to other tasks.

Relations between the two traditional allies have cooled in recent months, especially after Paris’ decision in September 2021 to “tighten entry visa conditions” for applicants from Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco and to reduce the annual number allowed by 30% for Tunisians and 50% for Algerians and Moroccans.

A report issued by the General Authority for Foreigners in France revealed that French consulates in Morocco issued only 69,408 visas in 2021, compared to 342,262 visas in 2019 and 98,000 visas in 2020, despite the restriction of international travel due to the coronavirus pandemic crisis.

About a year after these measures, the restrictions imposed on Tunisians and Algerians were eased, while they became more severe for Moroccans, which sparked escalating anger in the country, reaching the point of calling for a boycott of French products, and organizing protest stops in front of the headquarters of the European Union mission in Rabat.

The Moroccan newspaper Al-Massae has commented on the visa refusal by stating that, years ago, only illegal immigrants were subjected to humiliation by some colonial countries, such as France, with justifications for their illegal presence on its soil. Today, respectable Moroccan high-profile citizens are insulted by the French authorities while seeking to obtain a visa, while France still earns full economic interests in our country. These benefits are met with no respect for Moroccans.

 

Conflicting Interests

In an interview with Al-Estiklal, the political activist Khalida Bakkali said: “It wasn’t easy for Paris to accept and adapt to the idea that Morocco has changed internally and externally. Morocco has become strong at the internal level, with diverse partners other than France. I think that the main reason behind France’s change in position is that Morocco has been keen to create partnerships and political relations with multiple partners after being deceived by France. Morocco’s success in making new international allies pushed France to seek to solve the crisis before losing the priority it has always enjoyed in Morocco.”

Paris does not look with satisfaction at the steps Morocco took during the past years to diversify its economic and political partners, reduce its economic dependence on France, and establish its feet in the Sahara. It has become one of the economic partners of many African countries, until it ranked the fifth country in Africa to invest in.

The French Foreign Minister confirmed that her country’s position on the Sahara issue and on the autonomy proposed by Morocco is known and characterized by “clarity and continuity.” She said: “For years, we announced our position, and it is known to our Moroccan partners and friends. Of course we support the Moroccan position about the Sahara. We’ve said that more than once.”

She added that Morocco could count on France’s support, especially at a time when tensions have returned and some breaches of fire have been recorded. She emphasized: “We made that clear previously, and I am keen to repeat that today.”

Paris considers Rabat an ideal partner in the security, intelligence, and military fields. It is highly relied upon to monitor the Moroccan community in France, and the movements of fighters, whether inside or outside the Kingdom, by providing assistance by providing security information.

It is expected that the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Morocco in the first quarter of 2023 will constitute a second step for the return of relations to normal.

France was Morocco’s second trading partner after Spain in 2020, according to the Moroccan Ministry of Economy and Finance. Morocco is also the first destination for French investments in Africa, through more than 950 French companies branches providing about 100,000 job opportunities.

 

Regional Impact

On December 17, a statement from the Algerian president stated that Tebboune had received a phone call from his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, in which they discussed bilateral relations and prospects for cooperation between the two countries.

On the same occasion, the two presidents exchanged, according to the statement, views regarding the situation in Libya and the Sahel region, as well as regional and international issues of common concern.

Although the phone calls between the two presidents have been going on for a long time after relations were restored to their normal course between the two countries, these talks are interesting in terms of timing.

The call immediately followed the statements of French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Rabat about the Moroccan Sahara to reassure Algeria that it strongly rejects the Moroccan autonomy proposal in Western Sahara.

The French diplomacy between the two countries, Morocco and Algeria, is restless. The game of interests in the region requires Paris to move in the two areas. This makes the French position always confused, despite Morocco’s demands for the need to get out of the gray situation in their bilateral relations.