Morocco ends envoy to Paris' duties after EU Parliament's 'anti-Morocco' resolution

Morocco has officially ended the duties of its ambassador to France as ties between Rabat and Paris hit a new low.

"Following royal instructions, it has been decided to end the mission of Mr Mohamed Benchaâboun as Ambassador of His Majesty to the French Republic, as of January 19, 2022," read the press release published on Friday.

The announcement was made through a first-of-its-kind press release published in the Moroccan Official Bulletin, a publication dedicated to royal decrees and high-rank decisions.

Benchaaboun's duties were ended the same day the European Parliament voted on a resolution condemning Morocco's alleged human rights abuses, which Rabat denies.

In a non-binding text adopted, MEPs urged Morocco to "respect freedom of expression and media freedom" and to "guarantee imprisoned journalists... a fair trial."

Last July, Benchaaboun presented his credentials to French President Emmanuel Macron as both states seemed ready to warm up their relationship after months of icy ties.

However, the "anti-Morocco" European resolution, which was widely supported by members of Macron's party, plunged Franco-Moroccan already fragile ties into further crisis.

On 23 January, Morocco's parliament unanimously condemned the European Parliament's resolution and decided to reconsider ties with Strasbourg through a comprehensive evaluation.

"Our country is undergoing hostile acts and attacks in the European Parliament which have forced us to reassess our relationship with it," Rachid Talbi El-Alami, speaker of the Moroccan Parliament, said during a recent parliamentary session.

Meanwhile, several Moroccan politicians further accused Paris of pushing for the European Parliament's recent resolution against Morocco.

Lahcen Haddad, a Moroccan politician and member of the Moroccan committee in the European Parliament, said that Stéphane Séjourné, "a close politician to the French presidency" was "one of the architects of the resolution." 

Christophe Lecourtier, French ambassador to Morocco, denied the allegations, stressing that the European Parliament is composed of a "diversity of politicians and ideas."

"The resolution of the European Parliament does not commit France in any way. (...) We are accountable for the decisions of the French authorities,” Lecourtier told Moroccan weekly TelQuel.

Paris has yet to react to the recent escalations.

The Moroccan-French crisis is prompted mainly by Paris' 'ambiguous' position on Western Sahara, a key diplomatic file for Moroccans: state and opposition.

"I would like to send a clear message to the world: the Sahara issue is the prism through which Morocco views its international environment. (...) it is the clear and simple measure for the sincerity of friendships," said Moroccan King Mohammed VI in a televised speech last August.

Western Sahara is a disputed territory over which Rabat and the separatist Polisario Front claim sovereignty. The UN recognises neither.

The crisis escalated after Macron's visit to Algeria, Morocco's arch-enemy and Polisario's main ally, to mend ties with the gas-rich country while cancelling his two long-awaited trips to Rabat. Macron was scheduled to visit Morocco in October last year and this February.

Nevertheless, Paris continues to deny the existence of any crisis with Rabat.

"On the contrary, we are in an exceptional partnership that we intend to nurture," said Anne-Claire Legendre, spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a press briefing on 26 January 2023.

Last week, Algeria also recalled its ambassador to France, in protest of Paris's intervention to stop the extradition of Amira Bouraoui, an anti-regime Franco-Algerian activist from Tunis to Algiers.

Macron's tightrope diplomacy in Morocco and Algeria seems far from effective, as the two states seek more political and economic independence from their former coloniser.