Latest news with #Franco-Moroccan
Morocco World
6 days ago
- Business
- Morocco World
French Equality Minister Aurore Bergé Begins Three-Day Morocco Visit
Marrakech – French Minister for Equality Aurore Bergé arrives in Morocco today for a three-day official visit focused on bilateral cooperation in women's rights and gender equality. The visit, taking place from June 23-25, builds on the strategic partnership King Mohammed VI and French President Emmanuel Macron launched in October 2024. In Rabat, Bergé will meet with Economy and Finance Minister Nadia Fettah Alaoui and her counterpart Naïma Ben Yahia, Minister of Solidarity, Social Integration, and Family. The ministers are expected to sign a joint declaration to strengthen Franco-Moroccan cooperation in preventing violence against women. Bergé's agenda includes discussions with key Moroccan officials, including Amina Bouayach, president of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), Mbarka Bouaida, president of the Association of Moroccan Regions, Ahmed Abbadi, secretary general of the Rabita of Ulema, and royal advisor André Azoulay. Women's economic empowerment stands as a central focus of the visit. Bergé will tour the Safran Nacelles industrial site in Nouaceur near Casablanca and visit the Aeronautics Trades Institute to discuss women's training and their role in Morocco's economy. In Marrakech, the minister will explore social structures, including the Lalla Amina center for children without families, and visit facilities dedicated to women's economic empowerment. She will also evaluate field projects supported by the French Development Agency (AFD), including the 'Ajyal Equality' program, which works to support women victims of violence. A key diplomatic development expected during the visit is Morocco's planned inclusion among the group of states promoting feminist diplomacy. This move precedes an international conference on feminist diplomacy scheduled for October in Paris. Throughout her trip, Bergé will meet with the French community in Rabat, Casablanca, and Marrakech, which represents the largest foreign community in Morocco with over 50,000 citizens. The visit marks another layer in the Rabat-Paris bilateral relations, elevating gender equality from symbolic intentions to a foundation for strategic cooperation across economic, social, and diplomatic spheres. It follows France's recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara in July 2024, and subsequent visits by French officials to Morocco's southern provinces, including Culture Minister Rachida Dati, French Senate President Gérard Larcher, AFD Director General Remy Rioux, among many others. Read also: King Mohammed VI May Visit France in Late 2025 or Early 2026 Tags: Morocco France Relations
Ya Biladi
6 days ago
- Business
- Ya Biladi
French Minister Aurore Bergé visits Morocco to advance equality efforts
French Minister for Gender Equality and the Fight Against Discrimination, Aurore Bergé, is on an official visit to Morocco from June 23 to 25, 2025. The visit forms part of the strengthened and exceptional partnership initiated by the heads of state of both countries. During her stay, she will hold talks with senior Moroccan officials, including Nadia Fettah Alaoui, Minister of Economy and Finance, and Naïma Ben Yahia, Minister of Solidarity, Social Integration, and Family. According to a briefing note issued ahead of the visit, Aurore Bergé will also focus on the role of women in the economy. Her agenda includes a visit to the Safran Nacelles Morocco industrial site, as well as discussions on women's training and their vital contribution to the Moroccan economy at the Institute of Aeronautics Professions. She is also scheduled to meet with civil society organizations working to promote gender equality. In addition, the minister will hold meetings with Amina Bouayach, President of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH); Mbarka Bouaida, President of the Association of Regions of Morocco and President of the Guelmim Oued Noun Regional Council; and Ahmed Abbadi, Secretary-General of the Rabita of Ulemas. She will also be received by André Azoulay, Advisor to King Mohammed VI. The visit is seen as a «key step toward bringing Morocco into the circle of countries that have adopted a feminist foreign policy», in the lead-up to an international conference on feminist diplomacy scheduled for Paris in October 2025, according to the same source. Aurore Bergé and Naïma Ben Yahia are also expected to announce a joint commitment to «strengthening Franco-Moroccan cooperation in training and prevention programs to combat all forms of violence against women».
Local France
21-06-2025
- Local France
French court upholds life sentence over 2016 police killings
In 2023, Mohamed Lamine Aberouz, a 31-year-old Franco-Moroccan, was found guilty of complicity in the stabbings of Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and his partner Jessica Schneider by his friend Larossi Abballa in June 2016. Abballa slit 36-year-old Schneider's throat in front of her three-year-old son and then stabbed 42-year-old Salvaing to death outside their home in the town of Magnanville outside Paris. He was shot dead by a police response unit. Abballa claimed the attack on behalf of the Islamic State group in a chilling live video from the scene of the crime broadcast on social media. The assault took place at the height of a wave of terror and marked the first time that police officers were traced to, and killed, in their homes. On Saturday, the Paris Special Criminal Court found Aberouz guilty on all counts including complicity in the murder of a person in a position of public authority and participation in a terrorist criminal conspiracy. His lawyers said their client would lodge an appeal with the Court of Cassation. 'Evil will' Vincent Brengarth, one of his lawyers, said Aberouz was "devastated". "The benefit of the doubt was effectively granted to the prosecution, which represents a reversal of a fundamental principle," he said. Aberouz has maintained his innocence, saying he was at prayers the night of the attack. He has condemned the attack and insisted that Abballa acted alone. Advertisement "It was his evil will," Aberouz said in court. "I regret having known him and having been fooled." "I assure you that I have no responsibility for your misfortune," Aberouz said in the courtroom, looking at the families of Schneider and Salvaing. According to the prosecutor, the accused was a member of the Islamic State group and present at the scene of the crime on June 13, 2016. The defendant's denials "do not stand up to scrutiny", said prosecutor Naima Rudloff. "The sequence of events confirms that this could only have been done with the help of a second man," added the lawyer. "Can you imagine a man, in broad daylight, attacking two potentially armed police officers?" Brengarth, one of the lawyers for the accused, had argued for his client's acquittal on the grounds of reasonable doubt, stressing the lack of "concrete evidence" against him. The accused's DNA was found on the victims' computer. His lawyers have claimed his DNA came from Abballa's car.
France 24
21-06-2025
- Politics
- France 24
French court upholds life sentence for man linked to jihadist murder of police couple
A French court on Saturday upheld a life sentence for a man convicted for his part in the 2016 killing of a police couple at their home in front of their young child. In 2023, Mohamed Lamine Aberouz, a Franco-Moroccan, was found guilty of complicity in the stabbings of Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and his partner Jessica Schneider by his friend Larossi Abballa in June 2016. Abballa slit 36-year-old Schneider's throat in front of her three-year-old son and then stabbed 42-year-old Salvaing to death outside their home in the town of Magnanville outside Paris. He was shot dead by a police response unit. Abballa claimed the attack on behalf of the Islamic State group in a chilling live video from the scene of the crime broadcast on social media. The killings came amid a wave of attacks in France linked to the Islamic State group and marked the first time that police officers were traced to, and killed, in their homes. On Saturday, the Paris Special Criminal Court found Aberouz, 31, guilty on all counts including complicity in the murder of a person in a position of public authority and participation in a terrorist criminal conspiracy. His lawyers said their client would lodge an appeal with the Court of Cassation. 'Evil will' Vincent Brengarth, one of his lawyers, said Aberouz was "devastated". "The benefit of the doubt was effectively granted to the prosecution, which represents a reversal of a fundamental principle," he said. Schneider's mother praised the ruling. "Justice has been done," Josiane Schneider told reporters. She praised the "very professional court," including the prosecutor. "I got a clear picture of what happened to my daughter. I had my own story in my head, she filled in the gaps and now I have answers." Aberouz has maintained his innocence, saying he was at prayers the night of the attack. He has condemned the attack and insisted that Abballa acted alone. "It was his evil will," Aberouz said in court. "I regret having known him and having been fooled." "I assure you that I have no responsibility for your misfortune," Aberouz said in the courtroom, looking at the families of Schneider and Salvaing. 03:23 According to the prosecutor, the accused was a member of the Islamic State group and present at the scene of the crime on June 13, 2016. The defendant's denials "do not stand up to scrutiny", said prosecutor Naima Rudloff. "The sequence of events confirms that this could only have been done with the help of a second man," added the prosecutor. "Can you imagine a man, in broad daylight, attacking two potentially armed police officers?" Brengarth, one of the lawyers for the accused, had argued for his client's acquittal on the grounds of reasonable doubt, stressing the lack of "concrete evidence" against him. The accused's DNA was found on the victims' computer. His lawyers have claimed his DNA came from Abballa's car.
Morocco World
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
King Mohammed VI May Visit France in Late 2025 or Early 2026
Doha – King Mohammed VI may make a long-awaited state visit to France in late 2025 or early 2026, according to a Moroccan diplomatic source. The visit, which has been postponed several times, would mark a new chapter in the strengthening of relations between the two countries. A series of preparatory meetings have been scheduled ahead of the official state visit, which the King will make at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, a source told AFP. One of the meetings will reportedly gather the Franco-Moroccan High Joint Commission, co-chaired by the heads of government, and is scheduled for the fall of 2025. Other visits and meetings will also be held to assess the progress of bilateral issues. Key among these is a meeting of the 'joint migration group' on June 25 in Paris and a visit by Moroccan Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit on July 7. In April, during a visit to Rabat, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced an agreement to 'improve cooperation on readmissions', including the establishment of a 'joint group' tasked with 'investigating whether the nationality is Moroccan or not' for a number of irregular migrants. The upcoming royal visit comes after Macron, during his three-day trip to Rabat in October 2024, strongly supported the 2007 Autonomy Plan over the Western Sahara, endorsing Moroccan sovereignty over its southern provinces. In a July letter to the King, the French president stated that the Moroccan plan 'now constitutes the only basis for reaching a just, lasting and negotiated political solution in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions' – a position that the European country has reaffirmed since. During Macron's visit, he officially invited King Mohammed VI to make a state visit to France – an invitation the sovereign accepted with the exact date to be agreed through diplomatic channels. Now, according to reports, those dates are materializing. The two also leaders discussed giving a decisive boost to the excellent multidimensional relations between Morocco and France, to take into account the ambitions of both countries and face international developments and challenges together. They addressed regional and international issues, agreeing to work together to strengthen Euro-Mediterranean, African and Atlantic cooperation for prosperity and sustainable human development. The leaders additionally stressed the importance of deeply renewing the partnership between the two shores of the Mediterranean to build a more stable, sustainable, and prosperous future for the entire region. Tags: Emmanuel MacronKing Mohammed VIMorocco France Relations
