During his stay, Darmanin is scheduled to meet with Morocco’s Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi, and the king’s public prosecutor, El-Hassan Daki. [Getty]
France’s Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin landed in Morocco on Sunday to pitch new cooperation measures and counterterrorism legal frameworks, following the end of a years-long diplomatic freeze between Rabat and Paris.
On 9 March, Darmanin started his 24-hour trip to Rabat with a prime-time interview on Morocco‘s state-run television channel, 2M.
“This cooperation is excellent. The exceptional work Morocco does in intelligence and counter-radicalisation provides us with a wealth of information, allowing us to work together to prevent attacks”, Darmanin said on Sunday.
“The more we communicate, the more we prevent tragedies in both our countries,” he added.
The visit marks Darmanin’s second to Morocco in less than a year. His first trip, in April 2024, was aimed at bolstering security efforts in advance of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
At that time, he had commended Morocco’s role in the arrest of two French drug lords.
Félix Bingui, also known as “Le Chat” and alleged head of the Yoda gang in Marseille, was apprehended in Casablanca, just a month after Mohamed Amine Yahiaoui, a trafficker operating in the Île-de-France region, was captured in Marrakech.
This time, however, the focus of Darmanin’s talks shifted from individual arrests to more strategic issues: counterterrorism and the fight against organised crime.
During his stay, Darmanin is scheduled to meet with Morocco‘s Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi, and the king’s public prosecutor, El-Hassan Daki.
Their discussions will centre on Morocco’s counterterrorism efforts, following the dismantling of several Islamic State-linked cells in Morocco.
While Darmanin’s team has made it clear that he won’t discuss “individual cases,” the long-awaited extradition of two French nationals, Alan G. and Albinou D., are expected to be raised.
The two men were arrested in Morocco in February, reportedly with the help of intelligence-sharing between Paris and Rabat. The pair are accused of being accomplices of Mohamed Amra, an alleged drug kingpin. Both men remain detained in Morocco as their extradition process unfolds.
Under a 2008 agreement between the two countries, extraditions must be approved by Morocco’s Court of Cassation, with final approval from the prime minister. It remains unclear when Alan G. and Albinou will be sent back to France.
The extradition of Bingui, arrested in March 2024, took ten months. Now, that Paris and Rabat have better ties, the extradition process might take less.
Darmanin is also visiting Rabat to pitch a new law for asset confiscation.
Both France and Morocco have been actively seizing property, vehicles, and even cryptocurrencies linked to drug trafficking, but turning those seizures into state-controlled assets has been difficult.
“We seize a lot, but we confiscate relatively little”, Darmanin admitted during his television interview.
He called for a more effective system, similar to one France has established with the UAE, to ensure that seized assets are fully recovered and repurposed for state use.
The push for tighter financial controls comes at a time when both countries are under pressure to address money laundering and illicit trade flows. However, any significant shift in Morocco‘s legal framework regarding asset confiscation will require substantial political will and reform.
So far, the French official’s agenda doesn’t seem to include issues such as immigration, visa policies, or the Western Sahara territory.
Darmanin’s visit is part of a larger diplomatic context, one shaped by France’s recent policy shift toward Morocco.
Last July, President Emmanuel Macron recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara territory.
This move has angered Algeria which backs the separatist Polisario Front—who also claims sovereignty over the territory—and led to a diplomatic setback between Paris and Algiers.
In January, Algeria suspended judicial cooperation with France refusing to accept the extradition of its nationals, a stance that French officials have deemed ‘humiliating’.
In response, Darmanin, alongside other ministers in his cabinet, has been advocating to ‘abolish’ post-independence agreements with Algeria.
