France is a republic it that perfect item to arrogate to itself the right to act as a referee policies elegance?
Chirac has made us regret Mitterrand, and Sarkozy, Chirac. Holland would it now pass us off the nostalgia of yesteryear Sarkozyism? Nicolas Sarkozy was (still is) a cynical, coupled with a pro-Israeli Atlanticist; shame for a man who put his career under the auspices of the General. We knew (we always know), but at least we know what to expect. With François Hollande is a little different. The man is just as cynical, with the difference that in matters of domestic policy and foreign, he shows, despite the notable efforts of Laurent Fabius in the latter, an amateur as touching as persistent. So will he managed this feat which consisted this week, triggering a diplomatic crisis with the traditional ally is Morocco. This was premeditated, why not. But the problem is that all appear to come under the most complete improvisation. To be fair, the first nail in the coffin of the traditional Franco-Moroccan back to 2011 - is the reign of Sarkozy. At the UN, our ambassador Gerard Araud have said about Morocco: "
It is a mistress with whom we sleep every night, which is n ' is not particularly love, but we must defend ... "Words not very graceful, indeed. And very stupid, as uttered before the Spanish actor Javier Bardem - the villain of the latest James Bond - who was just trying to make a documentary on the Western Sahara , Madrid former colony and is a bit Rabat what Alsace-Lorraine could be the Paris of the Third Republic. Words, finally, obviously contradicted by the Quai d'Orsay, but not forgotten by our "
friends "Moroccans, and also not close to being given the new episode that follows. Last Thursday (27 February) for all arrange therefore, seven policemen were invited to the Moroccan embassy in Paris, meaning Abdellatif Hammouchi boss Moroccan against espionage, he was under multiple charges of torture even in Western Sahara, charges due the ACAT (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture). And, ignoring the traditional diplomatic channels, which are just there to avoid similar trouble. Obviously, Moroccans are furious, understandably. And penaudes French authorities, they complained. And we wish them a lot of fun especially in the decades to come. He must therefore take language with impeccable country's human rights? It could limit our diplomatic Address Book. Whatever one may think of Tibet, Ukraine or Western Sahara, these are stories purely internal matter to the nations concerned. That evokes, yes. We want to be both judge and party is another story ... Morocco is perhaps not a perfect monarchy and there is much to say about his role in drug trafficking and that, more problems , in support Islamism fighting during the civil war in Algeria. But France is a republic it that perfect item to arrogate to itself the right to act as a referee policies elegance? Beyond the historical and moral considerations, there is obviously political. Art in which François Hollande, just apprentice that is not likely, except miracle of the master. Whether let children play with the pot Confiote, why not, strictly speaking.Entrust their red button, army and diplomacy is another matter. One that blurs the Kingdom of Morocco with us is a beautiful illustration ...
Nicolas Gauthier is a journalist and writer.
Rabat, including Paris fails to calm anger, announced Wednesday, February 26 the suspension of his judicial cooperation with France.
Rabat is furious, Paris made the round back . A week after the outbreak of a rare diplomatic row between the two countries usually well-oiled relationship, tension has even increased a notch with a heavy retaliatory measures taken by Morocco. Embittered by complaints for complicity in torture against the boss of espionage against Moroccan and a request for a hearing conducted without diplomatic ways, Rabat announced Wednesday the suspension of its judicial cooperation with France. A potentially momentous decision consequences and surprised to Paris, wherethe most senior officials - President Francois Hollande chief diplomat Laurent Fabius through the Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira - strive for a week to "provide explanations" of "dispel misunderstandings", and continue to ensure the flap "constant friendship" Franco-Moroccan. Vain. "The French government has not complied with the legal agreements it has with the Moroccan government" and Rabat "has not yet received a full explanation of what happened," reiterated Thursday, government spokesman Moroccan Mustapha Elkhalfi.
"The atomic bomb to kill a fly"Everything is part of the half-dozen police raid on February 20 at the residence of the Ambassador of Morocco in the upscale suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine.These came notify the owner of espionage against Abdellatif Hammouchi a request for a hearing of the French court, which acts under the principle of universal jurisdiction. Abdellatif Hammouchi been several complaints by NGOs defending victims of torture, two Franco-Moroccan. If one concedes to Paris "blunders and shortcomings" in the way was served his request for a hearing to Abdellatif Hammouchi, however some are surprised with a "hysterical" reaction. Anyway, the decision Moroccan suspend "totally disproportionate" judicial cooperation, according to Pierre Breham, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers, could have serious consequences for civilian thousands of Franco-Moroccan. "For example, no more marriage or filiation can be executed in both countries. And criminal level, this means that you can not make extradition requests, hearings of witnesses, or transfers, "says the lawyer. "Morocco has really used the atomic bomb to kill a fly," he is surprised.
"There are more protective"Why such a reaction? For a specialist Morocco speaking on condition of anonymity, "some senior Moroccan officers themselves likely to be targeted by the French justice, lived in a dramatic way the fact that you can go and deliver a call at the residence of the ambassador. This means that there is more protection. "Meanwhile, Helen Legeay responsible Maghreb ACAT (Action by Christians against Torture, the NGO behind complaints), said that" preventing the transfer of sentenced prisoners in French Morocco, the authorities Moroccan seek to prevent complaints of torture upon their arrival in France . " The tension is exacerbated for geostrategic and political reasons, with the approach in April, the annual renewal of the mandate of MINURSO, the mission of the 'UN in Western Sahara, sacred cause for Rabat. Western Sahara is controlled by Morocco former Spanish colony, but claimed by the separatist Polisario supported by Algeria, the great rival of the Alawite kingdom. Last year, the willingness of the U.S. to include a "human rights" component in the mandate of MINURSO had provoked the wrath of Rabat and forced Washington to retreat, especially under the pressure of other Western countries , France in mind. Paris has traditionally supported the UN's position Rabat, which offers a wide autonomy for the Western Sahara, while the Polisario request a referendum on self-determination. But snide remarks on this subject attributed to a French diplomat by Spanish actor Javier Bardem, a staunch defender of the Saharawi cause and bane of Rabat, have further fueled the tension in recent days
.Morocco is a "mistress with whom we sleep every night, which is not particularly love, but we must defend," reportedly
said, in 2011, the Permanent Representative of France to the UN Javier Bardem . Paris has categorically denied, but failed to calm the ire of Rabat.