French left-wing leader, Melenchon to visit Morocco amidst diplomatic cooling

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a French left-wing leader and founder of the “La France insoumise (LFI) party, is expected to embark on a visit to the Kingdom of Morocco starting tomorrow amid an ongoing diplomatic crisis between Rabat and Paris.

The visit was planned for about a year now and aims to promote cooperation between the left-wing movements in Morocco and France.

His upcoming visit to the country will include the cities of Marrakech, Casablanca, Rabat, and Tangier. Mélenchon also plans to present his latest book, “Do the Best! Towards the Citizen’s Revolution” (Faites mieux! Vers la Révolution citoyenne), which tackles the issue of climate and ecology, with an emphasis on water management.

Mélenchon considers Morocco as a key country for the presentation of his book due to its challenges related to drought.

The first stop of the French politician is expected to be Marrakech, where he will visit the areas affected by the devastating earthquake that struck Al-Haouz on September 8. Subsequently, Mélenchon will head to Casablanca to hold a presentation ceremony for his book.

The French politician is also expected to participate in a conference at the Mohammed V University in Rabat on the same book, emphasizing the right to clean water.

On October 7th, the French opposition leader will visit Tangier and will hold meetings with leaders of political parties, including the Progress and Socialism Party as well as the Independence Party, and will conclude his visit with a meeting with the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, in Tangier.

The visit of Mélenchon to the Moroccan political parties is not related to the current tension in the relations between Rabat and Paris. According to sources within the Socialist Party of Progress and Socialism, Mélenchon is not in a position to replace the official French authorities in resolving the situation, and similarly, the Party of Progress and Socialism can’t replace the Moroccan authorities in dealing with these issues.

Secretary General of the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS), Moahmed Nabil Benabdallah, underscored that this visit is not linked to the diplomatic cooling between the two nations and confirmed that Mélenchon’s visit was arranged nearly a year ago with the French MP affiliated with the LFI party, Farida Amrani, and Mohamed Abdi, a left-wing activist in Morocco and France.

This visit aims to develop new forms of cooperation between the Moroccan Left party and its French counterpart.

However, some analysts believe that Mélenchon’s visit is likely to create tensions with French President Emmanuel Macron, as their stances on certain matters differ. The latter adopts more of an authoritarian approach, to which no left-wing Moroccan political party adheres.

Ali Boutouala, Deputy Secretary General of the Federation of the Democratic Left Party (FGD), explains that Mélenchon’s visit to Morocco reflects his intention to distance himself from Macron and the French right political party, especially regarding Moroccan sovereignty.

Boutouala argues that the time of the French politician’s visit holds humanitarian significance, which Mélenchon himself is undoubtedly aware of it.

The Deputy Secretary General of the FGD added that many dissatisfied French citizens with Macron’s policies have chosen to reside in Morocco, offering an opportunity for collaboration between Morocco and France, with Mélenchon taking on a central role.

While Mélenchon’s visit is not related to the diplomatic cooling between Morocco and France, it indirectly exerts pressure on the French presidency, explains Boutouala.

It’s more than a year now Moroccan-French diplomatic feud has become loud.

Macron previously denied his responsibility for the worsening of relations between his country and several countries, including Morocco.

Last month, the Moroccan government announced that the visit of Macron to the country is neither on the agenda nor scheduled, following an interviewing of Catherine Colonna, France’s top diplomat, with a news channel where she announced that the king of Morocco invited the French President.