Le Monde Lifts the Veil: Morocco’s Palace of Illusions and the Question of Succession
✍️ BY: Dr. Hana Saada
Algiers, Algeria | The gilded gates of Rabat’s royal palace no longer conceal the fissures spreading across Morocco’s monarchy. Twenty-six years after King Mohammed VI ascended the throne, what was once projected as an image of stability is increasingly riddled with contradictions — a monarch whose health raises visible concerns, a throne that seems more fragile than ever, and a future mired in uncertainty.
The French daily Le Monde has, in a rare and unflinching piece, laid bare what many Moroccans whisper behind closed doors: a monarch torn between absence and sudden appearances, between fragile presence at official ceremonies and staged leisure outings intended to reassure both domestic and foreign audiences. This oscillation, far from clarifying, deepens the opacity surrounding the palace and the state it embodies.
The Crown Prince in Waiting
While the Makhzen clings to the illusion of continuity, the figure of Crown Prince Moulay Hassan emerges with calculated prominence. From donning the rank of Colonel Major to hosting world leaders such as China’s president, his visibility is no accident. It is a carefully curated choreography meant to signal preparedness for succession, yet without ever admitting that Morocco is on the cusp of a transfer of power.
This half-denial, half-preparation, betrays not resilience but fragility. The very act of avoiding clarity underscores the unease of a monarchy that fears any admission of vulnerability.
A Nation’s Cracks Exposed
Meanwhile, Morocco’s social and economic landscape deteriorates. Youth unemployment spirals, inequalities between rural and urban Morocco widen, and internal migration overwhelms already strained infrastructure. The monarchy’s silence on these structural failures contrasts starkly with its obsession with image control. In this light, the succession question transcends palace intrigue — it is intimately tied to the country’s capacity for survival and stability.
Shadows Around the Throne
For years, the King’s personal entourage, including the notorious Azaitar family, sullied the image of the monarchy. Their gradual sidelining is less a moral choice than a desperate attempt at damage control. The palace now recycles the sanitized image of Mohammed VI flanked by his son and daughter, carefully erasing the fractures of the past. Yet the persistent invisibility of Princess Lalla Salma, absent from public life since 2018, feeds speculation and exposes once again how personal affairs of the monarchy reverberate across national politics.
An Oligarchic Monarchy
What Morocco faces is not merely a constitutional monarchy shrouded in tradition, but an oligarchic system where the lines between royal authority, economic hegemony, and political subservience are blurred beyond recognition. Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch embodies this entanglement — a businessman-politician whose ascent epitomizes the incestuous fusion of wealth and power. The King’s sprawling economic empire, tightly woven into the national economy, leaves little space for genuine democratic accountability.
Between Decline and Transition
Morocco is at a dangerous crossroads: a monarchy weakened by its leader’s health, yet unwilling to admit vulnerability; a crown prince prematurely thrust into international visibility, yet cloaked in orchestrated ambiguity; a society buckling under inequality, youth frustration, and systemic neglect.
The palace clings to illusion, but the cracks are visible. The grandeur of Mohammed VI’s reign increasingly resembles a palace of mirrors — dazzling from afar, hollow upon closer inspection. The succession, whether imminent or delayed, will not merely be a royal affair. It will define the trajectory of Morocco itself: whether it continues down the path of opacity, oligarchy, and staged symbolism, or dares to confront its realities.
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