2023-09-12 22:23:52
The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron called on Tuesday to stop the “controversies” over humanitarian aid, “out of respect” for the victims of the earthquake in Morocco, in a short video published on X (formerly Twitter).
Many countries, including France, offered their help after the earthquake which left 2,901 dead and 5,530 injured, according to a latest report. But the Moroccan government has so far not taken the hand extended by France, and this refusal has been interpreted as a sign of tension between the two countries.
Morocco “fully sovereign”
“I have seen a lot of controversies in recent days which have no reason to exist,” the president reacted in this video. “We are here, we have the possibility of providing direct humanitarian aid,” he indicated, while recalling that “it is obviously up to His Majesty the King and the government of Morocco, in a fully sovereign manner, to organize international aid.
“I would like all the controversies which divide, which complicate things in this moment which is already so tragic, to be silent out of respect for everyone,” added Emmanuel Macron.
VIDEO. Earthquake in Morocco: Macron calls for an end to “controversies” over humanitarian aid
“We are at your side,” he also assured, affirming that France was financing “associations which have been working on the ground since the first day”. “We will be there in the long term: on the humanitarian level, on the medical level, for reconstruction, for cultural and heritage aid, in all areas where the Moroccan people and their authorities consider that we are useful,” said declared the head of state.
Tight relationships
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, had already endeavored on Monday to put an end to the controversy, saying on BFMTV that it was “a bad quarrel”. “Morocco has refused no aid, no proposal,” she said, insisting that Rabat was “sovereign”. The country “is alone in a position to determine what its needs are and the pace at which it wants responses to be provided,” she also added.
Relations between Morocco and France, a former colonial power where a large Moroccan diaspora lives, have been tense since Emmanuel Macron tried to get closer to Algeria, which broke off diplomatic relations with Rabat in 2021, accused of “hostile acts”.
Restrictions on granting visas to Moroccans, lifted last December, had also strained relations. For months, there has been no Moroccan ambassador in France. Rabat is also growing impatient because Paris does not seem inclined to budge on the thorny issue of Western Sahara, almost 80% of which is controlled by Morocco.
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