Macron of France and the king of Morocco strengthen their relationship with business deals

France’s Alstom (ALSO.PA) agreed to sell high-speed trains to Morocco on Monday. This was one of many business deals made during President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to the kingdom. This marks the end of years of political tensions between the two countries.

In the past three years, ties between Paris and Rabat have been tense, mostly because of problems with immigration and the disputed region of Western Sahara, which Morocco wants the world to recognize as Moroccan.

Macron walked a fine line to avoid upsetting Algeria, which is a rival of Morocco. In July, he supported Morocco’s stance on Western Sahara, which made it possible for the two countries to get along again. Macron is on the trip with 40 business leaders and 12 ministers.

With a cane in hand, King Mohammed VI came to meet Macron and his wife Brigitte at the airport on Monday, before the event to sign the contract at the Moroccan royal palace. This was a rare show of respect for a foreign guest.

Alstom and Morocco’s ONCF agreed to buy 12 high-speed trains, with an opportunity for six more. This was a reward for France, since Morocco wants to extend an existing line farther south to Marrakech by 2030.

Electricity companies Engie (ENGIE.PA) and EDF also made deals to grow in the green energy field. TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) also made a deal on hydrogen, but the amount wasn’t made public right away. The shipping company CMA CGM also said it would put money into a port station in Morocco.

Officials in France said that the contracts were worth more than 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) for both sides, but they didn’t give a specific split.

France also hoped that the visit would ease tensions over immigration, which is a very controversial topic in France because right-wing parties want the government to send back even more unwanted refugees to countries like Morocco.

In 2021, Paris chose to greatly cut the number of visas it gives to people from North Africa. This was done to put pressure on those countries to make it easier for migrants to return.

Morocco was very upset about the strategy, and in 2022, France finally stopped limiting visas.

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