France and Morocco, the difficult double loyalty of immigrants

The semifinal between France and Morocco will be a double party and a test of maturity for multicultural coexistence.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
14 December 2022 Wednesday 03:39
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France and Morocco, the difficult double loyalty of immigrants

The semifinal between France and Morocco will be a double party and a test of maturity for multicultural coexistence. Many families of Moroccan origin will gather with friends and countrymen to follow the match, which has become a celebration of their roots and, at the same time, a challenge for the difficult double loyalty to the two countries.

Yesterday at noon, in a southwestern Parisian suburb, a woman was walking quickly down the street with a transparent bag in which a Moroccan team shirt was visible. Souad, 39 years old and a nursing assistant, was born in France but her parents are from Nador, along with Melilla. This was the dialogue with La Vanguardia:

Will he wear the shirt tomorrow?

–Yes, but may the best man win, ha ha.

-Really?

–Well, I am with Morocco. France already has two stars (for its two world titles, in 1998 and 2018) and Morocco none. She already touches him.

Will they watch the game eating couscous?

–No, this time it will be pizza. We leave the couscous for another day, if we win, ha ha.

It is impossible to know exactly how big the Moroccan community is in France because a significant part has a French passport. There is talk of 700,000 people, but the real number could be double.

In anticipation of possible incidents after the match, the police will carry out a large deployment in sensitive places in large cities, especially on the Champs Elysees in Paris, a traditional destination for fans to celebrate victories.

Several far-right leaders have stirred up the atmosphere with dangerous ultranationalist statements. Éric Zemmour considered it "strange" that thousands of people who have French nationality celebrate the victory of Morocco. The frustrated candidate for the presidency of the Republic took the opportunity to criticize the principle of dual nationality. And Jordan Bardella, the new president of the National Rally (RN), Marine Le Pen's party, deplored that many Moroccan fans in France "are moved more by a feeling of revenge against France than by a sportsmanship."

The sociological background of the France-Morocco football clash is less problematic than a France-Algeria one. Colonial ballast is less heavy. The Algerian war of independence (1954-1962) left deep wounds on both sides. The French protectorate in Morocco, between 1912 and 1956, was, by comparison, much less traumatic. However, the sporting duel occurs in a complicated phase of the bilateral relationship. There are several disputes on the table. Paris is lukewarm on the issue of the annexation of the Sahara because it does not want to irritate Algiers too much. Sparks flew between France and Morocco last year when it became known that Moroccan espionage services most likely used the Pegasus program to tap – or try to do so – the phones of most French ministers and of President Emmanuel Macron himself. In Rabat, for their part, they are very unhappy about the drastic reduction in visas for Moroccan citizens decided by France.

On a strictly sporting level, French analysts feel somewhat uncomfortable with their team's status as favorite. "It is more of a burden than a liberating factor," Le Parisien acknowledged yesterday. Everyone is also aware that the Moroccan team is, deep down, a very European team. L'Équipe published a map with the origin of the players: 14 of the 26 were born outside of Morocco.

For France, which needs to boost its self-esteem at a difficult national moment, perhaps on the eve of power cuts that will undermine its pride as a nuclear power, winning the World Cup again would do them a lot of good. For many French Moroccans, the victory of the country of their ancestors would be something even more beautiful and emotional. It is very nice for them to know that they have two numbers in the Qatar raffle.