Macron showed a lack of respect for Morocco’s King Mohammed VI following the Pegasus Affair, the most notable event which caused “cold relations between the countries,” said well-known Moroccan writer Taher Benjelloun during his appearance on the I24 News program entitled, “Conversation Avec Anne Canaba.”
Benjelloun recalled that throughout the souring relationship between the Kingdom and the French Republic, the Sovereign had assured Macron that he was never wiretapped, but Macron had responded in a very clumsy manner which the Sovereign did not appreciate.
He added that the European Parliament issued an anti-Moroccan resolution shortly after Macron reconciled with the Algerian regime, which he termed as “a huge geopolitical mistake.”
Continuing, he stated that the Macron’s predecessors–François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, and Nicolas Sarkozy had all peacebuilding–if not conciliatory–mandates, and were eloquent in their communication at the Elysée and the Royal Palace relating to bilateral topics of interest, contrary to the terse and inarticulate Macron, who had displayed such tendencies even prior to the Pegasus incident.
Taher Benjelloun spoke also about a variety of cultural topics, and Islam was the center of the discussion.
The Moroccan experience with the Malekite Doctrine gave the country and its people a land of peace and coexistence, far from radicalism that frequently plagues its geographical neighbors.
The novelist noted that police services are doing a fine job in countering terrorism in the country by pre-empting countless such would-be attacks.