French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin welcomed cooperation Morocco’s cooperation in the fight against terrorism, and called the Kingdom to participate in securing the Paris Olympic Games this summer.
“Without the Moroccan intelligence services, France would be more affected by terrorism and we thank them greatly, particularly in anticipation of the Olympic Games,” declared Gérald Darmanin after an interview with his Moroccan counterpart Abdelouafi Laftit Monday in Rabat.
Paris and Rabat will help each other during “major sporting events that we will experience, notably the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer and the African Cup of Nations in Morocco in 2025,” added the French official.
An official within Mr. Darmanin’s delegation, who requested anonymity, stated to AFP that France “has requested the support of a few dozen countries, including Morocco, in terms of security in anticipation of the Olympic Games.”
“Police officers of different nationalities, including Moroccan, will be mobilized during the Olympics to support the work of the French security forces,” he added.
In the fight against terrorism, Mr. Darmanin also specified that Paris remained attentive to the information provided by Morocco around “the threat which penetrates the Sahelo-Saharan strip” in a context of strong tensions between France and countries of the Sahel.
After an unprecedented crisis, Mr. Darmanin’s trip comes in a context of thawing relations between the two countries.
He is the third French minister to visit the kingdom in three months, following the head of diplomacy Stéphane Séjourné, in mid-February and the Minister of Foreign Trade, Franck Riester, in early April.
French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau is also visiting Morocco until April 23, while his Economy colleague Bruno Lemaire is expected during the week.
The objective of these visits is to stimulate “a profound renewal and modernization of the Franco-Moroccan relationship”, indicated Mr. Darmanin, who will meet during the day with the Minister of Islamic Affairs Ahmed Taoufiq.
Tensions between the two historic allies were triggered in 2021 by France’s restriction on visa granting and aggravated after the European Parliament’s vote in January 2023 condemning the degradation of press freedom in Morocco.
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