French Mayor Interrupts Moroccan Singer

The French recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara led to the closure of the Morocco stand at the Olympic Games by the mayor of Île-Saint-Denis, Mohamed Gnabaly, a councillor of Senegalese origin, married to an Algerian and known to be very close to the Algerian ambassador, Said Moussi, recently recalled by Algiers after Paris’ decision. The Moroccan consulate in Villemomble reacted to this sudden decision.

Apparently, the French recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara displeases Île-Saint-Denis. On Saturday, the city’s mayor, Mohamed Gnabaly, decided to close the Morocco stand (Maison du Maroc) in the Station Afrique (a sort of fan zone near the Olympic village) following a concert by the Moroccan Sahrawi singer Saida Charaf during which she expressed her attachment to her native land and thanked France for recognizing the Moroccan Sahara. On Thursday, the singer performed her song “Mani”, supporting the Moroccanness of her region of origin and the ties of allegiance (“bei’a”) between the Sahrawis and the Sultans and kings of Morocco. Enough to annoy the pro-Algerian environmentalist mayor (EELV). The latter stopped the concert before closing the stand on Saturday and banning Moroccans from accessing the site reserved for the celebration of athletes, artists and African cultures and peoples as part of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. In a statement published on his Instagram page, the mayor justified his decision: “(…) Politics has no place at Station Afrique. The city is totally neutral on the issue of Western Sahara and refuses any instrumentalization of its position. It is in no way the Moroccan people who are concerned by this decision of the city but rather the Moroccan authorities in France who have not respected the commitments made in defiance of good understanding between peoples.” He says he “had to personally intervene during the concert of the Moroccan artist to recall the spirit of neutrality, unity and fraternity of Station Afrique” because of the “inaction of the representation of the Kingdom of Morocco.”