For several months, Paris has been a persistent voice within the European Union, advocating for a significant shift in economic strategy. The French government believes that Europe’s competitiveness can no longer rely solely on open markets and global competition. Instead, it proposes a robust industrial policy, emphasizing a clear European preference in strategic sectors and a reduction of dependencies, particularly concerning China. Within the European Commission, Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné is championing the proposed regulation for industrial acceleration. Despite internal adjustments that have tempered its initial ambitions, France maintains an assertive stance. Paris is now pushing to broaden the scope of this text: mechanisms for European preference in public procurement, purchasing, and subsidies would extend beyond clean technologies, energy-intensive industries, and electric vehicles to encompass shipbuilding, railway equipment, and even the chemical sector.
Crucially, these very sectors are precisely where Franco-Moroccan industrial cooperation has achieved its most advanced integration. France stands out among EU member states for having its productive apparatus most deeply intertwined with that of Morocco. This unique position creates a fascinating dynamic: Paris champions a stringent ‘Made in Europe’ policy while simultaneously having cultivated a two-decade-long co-industrialization strategy with a country outside the EU bloc. In the automotive industry, facilities like Renault’s plant in Tangier and Stellantis’s operations in Kenitra now function as direct extensions of French production lines. Component manufacturers in Morocco supply parts directly to European industrial sites. A similar trend is evident in aeronautics, where companies such as Safran, Daher, and Latécoère have progressively integrated Moroccan industrial capabilities into their value chains. The Kingdom has evolved beyond a mere subcontracting hub; it now directly contributes to the competitiveness of French and broader European industrial output. This integration is even expanding into highly strategic areas, including electric vehicle batteries, green hydrogen, critical materials, port infrastructure, and digital technologies.
“France is likely the Member State whose productive apparatus is most integrated with Morocco’s”
The overarching goal for Paris is not to isolate Europe but to prevent a broad ‘Made with Europe’ approach, which might indiscriminately include all eighty or so of the Union’s commercial partners, from diluting the essence of European preference. France advocates for a more discerning strategy: distinguishing between countries that genuinely contribute to European competitiveness and supply security and those that remain simple external suppliers – or even pose a threat to European sovereignty.
The extent to which this vision will gain broader acceptance remains to be seen. By mid-July, the 27 member states are expected to conduct an initial political assessment of the ongoing work within the Council on the industrial acceleration regulation. Germany’s position will be pivotal. Berlin had long viewed French proposals for European industrial preference with caution, primarily fearing trade restrictions from Beijing and potential Chinese reprisals against its powerful automotive industry. However, under the pressure of an unprecedented industrial crisis and a domestic political debate intensified by the rise of the AfD, Germany can no longer simply champion classic free-trade principles. Could a policy of selective openness to trusted partners represent a potential compromise between Paris and Berlin? This very concept will determine the future trajectory of the Franco-Moroccan industrial partnership. While France has never officially requested that Morocco be designated among future trusted partners, its entire industrial and diplomatic strategy positions the Kingdom as a natural candidate for such a designation.
The legislative battle will also unfold within the European Parliament, where two French rapporteurs hold influential positions in the review of the regulation. A specific responsibility will fall upon them, as well as the French delegations: to ensure that the new regulatory boundaries being drawn by the Union do not inadvertently jeopardize the future of the vital Morocco-France industrial partnership.
