Faced with French ambassadors, President Emmanuel Macron highlighted the strategic partnership sealed with King Mohammed VI at the end of October, elevating it to a model for the renewal of French policy in Africa. In contrast, he criticized Algeria for the «totally arbitrary» detention of writer Boualem Sansal. President Emmanuel Macron called on Monday, January 6, for his country's ambassadors to adhere to the «new software» that must now govern relations between France and Africa. Morocco is cited as an example. «We have succeeded in building, with His Majesty King Mohammed VI during the state visit, a partnership for the decades to come, completely new. It touches on all areas. It is of unprecedented ambition, and it is truly constitutive for me of this new approach to Africa», declared the Head of State. President #Macron insists on the ambitious partnership of France with #Morocco and joint projects in #Africa ???? pic.twitter.com/xpsfW6WGnh — Yabiladi.com (@yabiladi_fr) January 6, 2025 A partnership that «must be one of our levers towards a reinvented African approach. That is to say, we will have French-Moroccan projects on the African continent. It is another way of approaching the continent and changing the perspective towards France», affirmed the president. For the record, Emmanuel Macron acknowledged, in a speech delivered on October 29 at the Moroccan Parliament, that «yesterday's lenses» to view Africa «are outdated». «We are committed to renewing our relationship with peoples and with states», he emphasized. He also said he was willing to draw inspiration from Morocco and «its action in the Sahara and the Sahel» to succeed in this new chapter in relations with Africa, which he calls for. Arrows directed at Algeria While the French President lavished praise on the partnership with Morocco, he also directed sharp criticism toward Algeria, placing the Maghreb country on a list of states that violate freedom of expression, alongside Venezuela and Georgia. France, he emphasized, will continue to «fight alongside all freedom fighters, teachers, journalists, and writers when they are imprisoned, regardless of the regime and regardless of our interests». «In saying this, I have a particular thought for a freedom fighter, the French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal. He is detained in a completely arbitrary manner by the Algerian authorities. Algeria, a country we love deeply and with which we share so many children and so many stories, is entering a history that dishonors it by preventing a seriously ill man from receiving treatment. This is beneath what Algeria represents. And as someone who values the Algerian people and their history, I urgently call on its government to release Boualem Sansal». Macron As a reminder, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had previously referred to Sansal as «an impostor sent by France» in a speech to Parliament on December 29. Yesterday, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed «doubts» about Algeria's commitment to adhering to the bilateral roadmap adopted in August 2022. «We observe postures and decisions from the Algerian authorities that make us question their willingness to honor this roadmap. It takes two to adhere to such an agreement», lamented Jean-Noël Barrot. Relations between the two countries have been tense since Emmanuel Macron recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara on July 30, 2024, prompting Algeria to recall its ambassador from Paris.
