Visiting Morocco, Gérald Darmanin sought to highlight the return to good relations between Paris and Rabat. The Minister of the Interior thus praised Monday in Rabat the cooperation in the fight against terrorism with the kingdom, called, according to him, 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 very much, particularly in anticipation of the Olympic Games,” declared Gérald Darmanin after an interview with his Moroccan counterpart Abdelouafi Laftit.
Several countries called upon for Olympic security
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 minister.
An official within Gérald Darmanin’s delegation specified on condition of anonymity 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, Gérald Darmanin also clarified that Paris remained attentive to the information provided by Morocco around “the threat penetrating the Sahelo-Saharan strip” in a context of strong tensions between France and Sahel countries.
A ministerial parade in Morocco
The trip by the Minister of the Interior comes in a context of thawing relations between the two countries after an unprecedented crisis. He is the third French minister to visit the kingdom in three months after 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 currently 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 Gérald 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 a restriction on the granting of visas by France, and aggravated after a vote in January 2023 by the European Parliament condemning the degradation of press freedom in Morocco.