Paris, France - France on Thursday hailed as “courageous and responsible” the speech by King Mohamed VI of Morocco in which he announced political reforms, including the strengthening of the status of the Prime minister as chief executive. The spokesperson for the French foreign affairs ministry, Bernard Valero, said in Paris that the will expressed by King Mohamed VI to strengthen the legitimacy of the government and to ensure power separation were commendable. “Those announcements, which concern justice, the place of women, the plurality of Moroccan identity or the modalities of regionalization are very important and exemplary. The approval of those reforms through a referendum aims at strengthening the country’s democratic nature,' the spokesperson said.

He also said that France was confident in the determination of the Moroccan people and the authorities to carry out the announced reforms and to develop their own democratic model.

About three weeks after pro-democracy demonstrations were held in Rabat, the Moroccan capital, King Mohamed VI, on Wednesday made a speech announcing several measures.

Pana 11/03/2011