2023-10-19 20:29:28
Former journalist Samira Sitaïl was named Morocco’s ambassador to France on Thursday, a position that has remained vacant since the start of the year in the face of the deterioration of diplomatic relations between Paris and Rabat.
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She will have a lot to do to rebuild the weakened links between Paris and Rabat. The King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, appointed Samira Sitaïl on Thursday October 19 as the kingdom’s new ambassador to France, filling a position vacant for several months, according to a press release from the Palace, in a context of diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
The Moroccan monarch appointed Samira Sitaïl “Ambassador of His Majesty the King to the French Republic”, according to the press release published at the end of a council of ministers chaired by Mohammed VI in Rabat.
A former journalist, Samira Sitaïl held the position of director of information on the second public television channel 2M for several years. This is the first time she has taken on a diplomatic role.
The mission of his predecessor, Mohamed Benchaâboun, ended on January 19 without a successor being designated.
Litigation that accumulates
His departure coincided with the adoption, the same day, by the European Parliament, of a resolution ordering the Moroccan authorities to “respect freedom of expression”.
The Moroccan political class and certain media had accused France, and in particular the entourage of French President Emmanuel Macron, of being at the origin of this initiative in Brussels.
Tensions reignited after the earthquake which struck the Marrakech region, in the center of the kingdom, on September 8, killing nearly 3,000 people. Rabat had not accepted the aid proposed by Paris, leading to “controversies in France which have no reason to exist”, said Emmanuel Macron.
Relations between the two countries, although traditionally very close, have been strained since Emmanuel Macron has tried to get closer to Algeria, which broke off diplomatic relations with Rabat in 2021, accusing it of “hostile acts” .
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Morocco also criticizes France for not aligning with the United States and Israel, which have recognized its sovereignty over Western Sahara, almost 80% controlled by the kingdom, but claimed by the Polisario separatists, supported by Algeria.
With AFP
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