Tahar Ben Jelloun: Pegasus spying programme behind the Rabat-Paris crisis

French-Moroccan novelist Tahar Ben Jelloun, who is close to the Moroccan palace, has revealed that the Israeli spying programme, Pegasus, is at the root of the thorny crisis between Rabat and Paris. Especially after President Emmanuel Macron’s inappropriate response to King Mohammed VI’s explanations about spying.
Tahar Ben Jelloun revealed this information during a programme on the Israeli channel I24 last Wednesday. Relying on sources he described as reliable, he said that Mr Macron had called the King to ask him if he (the President) was being spied on by Moroccan intelligence services. And the King gave Macron his word of honour that Morocco was not spying on him.
Tahar Ben Jelloun explained that Macron’s response was impolite… King Mohammed VI did not appreciate this behaviour, and in particular Macron did not believe in his word of honour. The bilateral crisis then erupted.
Mr Benjelloun accused the French President of being behind political initiatives hostile to Morocco within the European Parliament. Macron has also sought to strengthen relations with Algeria at the expense of the traditional friendship between Morocco and France.
This is the first time that such statements have confirmed that President Macron was spied on via the Pegasus programme. The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, admitted that his telephone and some of his ministers had been victims of Pegasus spying.
Novelist Tahar Ben Jelloun is one of the greatest defenders of bilateral relations between the two countries. He often exposes Morocco’s vision and positions in French or Moroccan media published in French. His statements, which have no doubt been given the green light by the Palace, emphasise that the real problem in the crisis between Paris and Rabat is the Pegasus spy programme, and that President Macron has been spied on and believes that Moroccan intelligence is responsible.
Morocco has repeatedly denied being responsible for the espionage, and has even presented complaints to the French and Spanish courts against the press accusing it of espionage.