Le Pen’s National Rally to chair Franco-Moroccan friendship committee
French far-right party National Rally (RN) has been elected to chair the French Moroccan parliamentary friendship committee after intense political battle.
According to Atalayar on 2nd January, the far-right group, now the biggest in Parliament, is set to chair the committees of bilateral relations with 15 other African States.
Support from Emmanuel Macron’s party Ensemble was key in obtaining the highly coveted Morocco chair, as the RN reciprocated by supporting the President’s bid for the US, Lebanon and Senegal chair.
Bilateral Committees allow for the creation of diplomatic ties between MPs, but also civil society actors. The president of a country’s committee is also often invited on diplomatic missions by the President when he visits said country.
Many are questioning the RN’s choice as the historical anti-immigration line of the party seems to go against such presidency. In 2021 the party supported reducing visa for Moroccans, a measure that was later overturned but nevertheless soured relations between the two countries.
Le Pen has, however, endorsed Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara in a recent tweet stating that “France should have long ago recognised the role played by Morocco in the stabilisation of the Sahara”. She said she plans to recognise Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara if she is elected.
For Khalid Chiat, professor of international relations at the University of Cadi Ayyad Marrakech, this could be a political strategy on the RN’s part to weight in the internal political balance, or even an instrument to pressure Algeria whose relations with France keeps on deteriorating.
One thing is sure: this would put the RN in an ideal position to negotiate and implement repatriation policies, a tool that is increasingly promoted in a context of intensifying anti-migration rhetoric.
Marine Le Pen’s entourage had made this last point clear when they insisted the group should chair the committee of a “great country of diplomacy and economic development”, an “important actor in the struggle against migration”, in part due to “its large diaspora” in France.
Indeed, economic interests are often color blind, French oligarch, media-owner and notorious RN-backer Vincent Bolloré has famously built his fortune in logistics in Africa, often by being granted concessions by African leaders.
The RN’s intention remains to be seen, but as the relationship between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Tunisian President Kais Saied has proved, migration control can now be a fertile ground for fostering diplomatic and economic ties.
Atalayar, Jeune Afrique, Le Monde, Maghrebi
