Paris, France: The Foreign Minister of France Ms. Catherine Colonna has announced that the country will end visa restrictions for Moroccan nationals. The decision is widely analyzed as a sign of warmer relations between the two countries after more than a year of tensions between Paris and Rabat.
After the talks with her Moroccan counterpart Mr. Nasser Bourita, Ms. Colonna informed that Paris has restored normal consular relations with Morocco following a year-long dispute linked to France’s decision to cut down the number of visas for Moroccans visiting France.
We’ve taken measures with our Moroccan partners to re-establish a consular relationship.
Ms. Catherine Colonna remarked.
The foreign minister added that “our objective is to improve the human exchanges between France and Morocco and enhance the deep interlinks between our two societies which makes our relations so particular.”
Last year, due to the pressure of public opinion on undocumented immigrants, France announced that it would cut the number of visas granted to nationals of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. The North African countries’ refusal to call back their citizens who are living illegally in France was the reason behind the visa denial.
France had generally warmer relations with Morocco than with its eastern neighbour Algeria, which was also a former colony.
But the relationship between the two countries deteriorated after media reports in 2021 stated President Mr. Emmanuel Macron’s phone was on a list of potential targets for surveillance by Morocco using the Pegasus software. Morocco has denied the allegation by claiming that the country does not possess Pegasus.
The announcement from France comes two days after France and Morocco played each other in the football World Cup semifinals in Qatar.