WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE FRANCE MOROCCO - news journal UPDATE - (en) France, UCL Press Release - Macron in Rabat: French imperialism on a diplomatic visit (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 At the end of October, Emmanuel Macron went to Morocco on a state visit

at the invitation of King Mohamed VI. Accompanied by a delegation of
more than 100 people including political figures and ministers (Bruno
Retailleau, Sébastien Lecornu or Jean-Nöel Barrot, respectively
Ministers of the Interior, Defense and Foreign Affairs) but also public
figures: among them Teddy Riner, Jamel Debbouze, Gérard Darmon and Jack
Lang. The extent of this delegation to include those close to the
president raises questions all the more since a report from the Court of
Auditors already warned in July about the astronomical costs of
delegation trips abroad. While Macron was received with great pomp in
Rabat, this visit looks like a gala for cultural elites close to the
Moroccan and French authorities.

In the media, this meeting was presented as a "reconciliation" between
the two countries. In reality, it illustrates a desire to strengthen
Franco-Moroccan ties to consolidate the French presence in North Africa.
This is done within a pro-Israeli diplomatic axis, decidedly attached to
the contempt of international law. Beyond the red carpets and dinners,
French influence in Morocco emerges increased from this meeting against
the backdrop of the struggle for the independence of Western Sahara and
rising tensions with neighboring Algeria. Western imperialism always
instrumentalizes the rivalries between nation-states of the Global
South: Macron's neo-colonial policy and his shaky diplomacy contribute
to the instability of the entire continent. Macron's visit is also part
of a tradition of collaboration for the control of migratory flows. The
European agency Frontex has thus practiced the return of migrants to
Mauritania or Libya since the 2000s. We have witnessed negotiations with
Erdogan's Turkey to keep hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees on its
soil: for years, Europe has been subcontracting the management of
migration to the South. An imperialist state is no exception, France and
its racist and conservative government are seeking through this visit to
negotiate with Morocco to contain the hordes of migrants fantasized by
the extreme right. It is seeking more possibilities for "readmission of
Moroccan nationals in an irregular situation". In exchange, Macron
promises closer economic cooperation and significant French investments
in the Moroccan economy. In short, a liberal project that smells of
Bolloréen "Afroptimism". If France is the leading source of foreign
direct investment (FDI) in Morocco, the country's debt situation with
the IMF does not seem to worry the president, who is taking with him the
bosses of Alstom, Total Energies, Thalès, CMA CGM and other major French
capitalists. Dozens of agreements have been signed between French groups
and Morocco under the banner of "strategic partnership". Thus, French
capitalism can continue to interfere in the Moroccan economy. France can
boast of promoting cooperation and sharing while refusing to grant the
slightest crumb of dignity to asylum seekers. By perpetuating the
conditions of death for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing for a
better life. The Libertarian Communist Union demands the transcendence
of borders and the national framework, towards a federalist society
where the political and economic bases of racism will have been abolished.

But Macron has also caused controversy in his support for Moroccan
colonization in Western Sahara. If the disputes over the borders between
Algeria and Morocco are already due to the colonial legacy and therefore
the arbitrary drawing of the borders, Macron has chosen to privilege his
ties with Morocco - even if it means further angering Algeria and
dealing a blow to the Sahrawis' claim for independence, even though
international law recognizes their right to self-determination. The
national liberation struggle waged by the Polisario Front for almost
half a century is legitimate. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
(SADR), proclaimed in 1976 and a founding member of the African Union,
must be sovereign. The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in
Western Sahara (MINURSO) has aimed to organize a self-determination
referendum there since 1991. France must comply with the demands of the
Sahrawi people and stop violating international law by asserting that
"the present and future of Western Sahara are part of Moroccan sovereignty."

The Sahrawi territory is also disfigured by the "Sand Wall". Built by
Morocco from 1980, this "wall of shame" is one of the last large border
walls in the world: 2,700 km of mined trenches and guarded by thousands
of soldiers. This wall is both ecologically and culturally destructive:
the nomadic lifestyle of certain Sahrawi populations comes up against
this insurmountable barrier. Morocco's predatory attitude is not only
motivated by nationalist arguments; it is also fueled by the
extractivist reason of the Moroccan state: Western Sahara is rich in
phosphate used in many agricultural products. It is also an oil region
with significant offshore resources. From minerals to hydrocarbons,
including fish reserves, Western Sahara is an exceptional boon for
Morocco, which occupies 80% of the territory. The economy, intrinsically
colonial, is based on the North/South imperialist division that
structures global capitalism.

Despite this situation, some left-wing political groups refuse to take a
position. We, libertarian communists, denounce the French alignment with
the Moroccan state. We affirm the need to allow the total independence
of Western Sahara and demand recognition by France of the SADR. We call
for support for the national liberation struggle of the Sahrawi people.

Liberty, Democracy, Unity Slogan of the Sahrawi independence fighters
Libertarian Communist Union, November 15, 2024.

For more information:

"Western Sahara: An injustice that drags on"
"A comic book and a film on the struggle of the Sahrawi people"
"Western Sahara: Stop Moroccan colonization"

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Macron-a-Rabat-L-imperialisme-francais-en-visite-diplomatique
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