Rabat passes buck on immigration row with Macron

Morocco’s relations with France and its President are certain to plummet further, due largely to the new radical immigration rules which Paris is carrying out towards Maghreb countries, following reports on November 24th that Morocco was not budging on its position.

Rabat rejected the justifications invoked by France for imposing drastic visa restrictions on Moroccan nationals.
Analysts say the crisis, which seems unlikely to be settled soon, considering France’s uncompromising attitude, could lead to serious repercussions on its already-frayed Moroccan relations.

The Moroccan government said that the continued refusal of visas to its citizens by France is a question that should be referred to Paris, not Rabat.

Mustapha Baitas, the official spokesman for the Moroccan government, told reporters at a press conference held after a  cabinet meeting in Rabat, that the continued rejection by French authorities of visa applications by Moroccans was “unacceptable.”

France’s controversial position was confirmed by Macron when he was at the Djerba summit for French-speaking countries last week.
“The question should be addressed to the other side (meaning France), and not to Morocco,” Baitas said.

He added, “If the reason for the question of visas is related to the return of minors, there have been clear directives from the king of Morocco to the Ministers of Interior Abdelouafi Laftit and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita in this regard and there has been diligent attention given to the meticulous implementation of  the royal directives.”

Since August 2021, France has been cutting the number of visas granted to Algerians and Moroccans by 50% and to Tunisians by 30%.
The restrictions were intended by Paris to pressure the Maghrebi governments to be “more cooperative” on the issue of repatriation of their radicalised or illegal nationals from France.

Macron said the pressure was working. “This overheating of the last few months has had an effect … We see that the returns [of expelled migrants] are facilitated,” the French president told AFP on the sidelines of the Francophonie summit in Tunisia, last Saturday.