As the Rafale fighter jet solidifies its status as the benchmark for military aviation, France faces increasing challenges in promoting its advanced aircraft in Morocco.
Despite being a long-time ally of Paris, the North African kingdom has so far opposed the inclusion of Dassault Aviation’s Rafale in its military modernization plans, according to a report in Moroccan newspaper Parliamentarian.
The newspaper claims that negotiations between France and Morocco over the sale of Rafale jets never materialized. Despite the cooperation of Dassault Aviation, the Directorate General of Armament (DGA) and the Elysée Palace, France was unable to persuade Rabat to sign a contract for what was considered to be French Aviation’s flagship product.
A senior French military official quoted by L’Express said of the surprising failure: “We thought we would win because it was Morocco. It was as if this country would naturally make a deal with France.” However, the result was a “disastrous failure”, mainly due to a “lack of serious involvement” on the part of France.
Although Morocco remains a traditional partner of France, Rabat has shown in recent years a growing desire to diversify its military alliances, particularly with the United States and Israel.
In this context, the French proposal, despite its technical superiority, appears to be stalled by a lack of diplomatic and commercial flexibility, which has been exacerbated by the political tensions of the past decade. It looks like
Hassan Boucantar, a prominent expert on France-Morocco relations, has argued that “other powers are actively courting Morocco, offering more attractive financial terms, technology transfer, and better strategic cooperation.” “I underestimated how many people there would be,” he said.
The roots of this failure lie in a series of strategic and diplomatic miscalculations. The story began in 2006 when Morocco decided to modernize its Mirage F1 fighter jets. Morocco turned to the Elysée Palace to buy Rafale aircraft, but negotiations quickly descended into chaos.
In France, two opposing approaches emerged. One from the Directorate General of Armaments, which favors direct government-to-government negotiations, and the other from the Confederation of Industries, responsible for manufacturing the Rafale, which insists on purely commercial negotiations. The lack of a clear decision led to contradictory messages and inconsistent offers, further complicating the situation.
Dassault Aviation initially offered €2 billion for 18 Rafale planes, but the French government countered with a lower price. The offer has since been amended to include additional equipment and operational guarantees, raising the price to 2.6 billion euros, but this suggests troubling questions about the deal’s financing.
To help Morocco, Paris hoped to bring in financial partners. However, this option stumbled as the French government refused to provide credit guarantees through Coface, especially in light of the approaching 2007 presidential elections.
Meanwhile, the United States, backed by Lockheed Martin’s commercial influence, stepped up its diplomatic efforts. The US government has offered Morocco 24 new F-16s at a competitive price of 1.6 billion euros, much cheaper than the Rafale.
Furthermore, the United States increased its political support for Morocco, particularly regarding the Sahara desert issue. In June 2007, Washington shifted from neutrality to explicitly supporting Morocco’s autonomy initiative in the disputed territory.
This diplomatic shift was followed by a $697.5 million agreement between Morocco and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, strengthening economic ties between the two countries.
By the summer of 2007, France made a last desperate attempt to salvage the deal, offering to finance the entire deal through Coface.
But by then the decision had already been made. Morocco chose the F-16, dealing a devastating blow to France’s ambitions. Dassault and other French companies were subsequently excluded from the Marrakech Air Expo in October 2007, which represented a painful failure.
This incident highlighted the structural weaknesses of France’s export strategy. A lack of coordination, slow response times, and a fundamental misunderstanding of the expectations of potential partners all contributed to the fiasco, resulting in significant missed opportunities for the French defense industry.
Despite being described by France’s former defense minister as “great, but difficult to sell,” the Rafale could still pique interest in Morocco’s future – especially with diplomacy between the two countries starting in 2024. Considering the progress of the relationship…
However, this failure should teach France an important lesson. Strategic coordination, negotiating flexibility, and prompt diplomatic responses are critical to securing defense contracts in an increasingly competitive global market.
Despite the Rafale’s undeniable technological excellence, its inability to adapt to changing geopolitical realities continues to challenge France’s ability to maintain and expand its influence in a complex and rapidly changing world. .
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