French President Emmanuel Macron and his spouse, Brigitte Macron, arrived on Monday 28thOctober, 2024 late afternoon in Rabat, for a three-day State visit to the Kingdom of Morocco, at the invitation of the King Mohammed VI.

This visit of the French President followed the announcement made, in July 2024, by Mr Macron in support of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara territory.

At his arrival in Rabat, Mr Macron was greeted by the Head of Government, the Speakers of the two Houses of Parliament, the King’s Advisors, the Deputy President of the High Council of the Judiciary.

During this visit, The President of the French Republic, H.E. Emmanuel Macron have given a keynote address, on Tuesday 29 October 2024, to the Two Houses of the Moroccan Parliament.

In his speech, the President of the French Republic firmly reiterated his country’s support for Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara stating: “I reaffirm it here before you. For France, the present and future of this territory lie within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty. Autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the framework within which this question must be resolved,”, restating by the later the clear and strong position he had communicated in his message to King Mohammed VI on the occasion of the 25th Throne Day in July 2024.

President Macron also pledged, in the name of France, to “accompany Morocco in international fora,” stressing that “the 2007 autonomy plan is the only basis for achieving a just, lasting and negotiated political solution in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”

“And I say here too, with great force, that our economic operators and our companies will support the development of these territories (Western Sahara) through investment and sustainable, mutually-supportive initiatives for the benefit of the local population,” he affirmed before the nation’s elected representatives.

Afterwards, the French President took part, on the afternoon of the 29 October 2024, in the “Morocco-France Entrepreneurial Meeting” co-organized by the Confederation of Private Sector in Morocco and his counterpart from France.

Given the closing of that important economical event, Mr. Macron noted that the Kingdom is “the leading client” of the French Development Agency (AFD) in terms of investments, assuring that AFD will continue to finance projects in the Kingdom, including those carried out by French companies in the Sahara.

In this respect, he stressed that France intends to develop an equitable, win-win economic partnership with Morocco, given the many complementarities between the two countries’ economies. The French President highlighted the existing industrial partnership in several fields, calling for greater integration of value chains in a context of “re-regionalization of tariffs”. Mr. Macron also expressed regret that European and French financial groups were forced to leave Africa “because of the rules and regulatory standards that the Europeans have taken for themselves”.

This significant change in France’s position is set by President Macron against a regional backdrop that must give priority to cooperation and consultation. In this context, he explained that “this position is not hostile to anyone. It rather opens a new page between us, and with all those who wish to act within a framework of regional cooperation, in the Mediterranean, with Morocco’s neighbouring countries and with the European Union.”