French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday afternoon that he wanted to “really move forward” with Morocco despite the ups and downs that taint relations between the two countries.
“We have to move forward despite these controversies but finally without adding to them,” declared the French head of state at a press conference on France’s African policy. He returned to the many stormy controversies and the series of media attacks by the French press against Morocco in recent months and in particular in recent weeks when articles and “investigations” in charge, criticisms, have flourished one after the other.
The French president said his desire was to “really move forward with Morocco”, saying that King Mohammed VI “knows this” and that they had “several discussions” on this subject. Emmanuel Macron added, to reassure French public opinion that “personal relations (with King Mohammed VI, editor’s note) are friendly, they will remain so”.
Returning to the subject of media attacks and the cases that suddenly appeared against Morocco at the level of the European Parliament, the President defended himself that the French government was involved or had “The scandals in the European Parliament, the subjects of wiretaps that have been revealed by the press. Is it the doing of the government of France? No.
Did France throw oil on the fire?
“The scandals in the European Parliament, the wiretapping subjects that were revealed by the press. Is it the doing of the government of France? No. Did France throw oil on the fire? No, “he said, denouncing the” people who try to pin up adventures “.
For him, the two countries must move forward despite these controversies, explaining the youth needs “that we build projects and move forward”.
Regarding the question of the balance between Morocco and Algeria for France, Emmanuel Macron underlined his desire to show more sincerity and to deal with things in a pragmatic way.
“I am trying to re-engage with as much sincerity as possible and in the same way, that is to say in a pragmatic way, with civil societies, in a dialogue between the two shores”, he affirmed.