King Mohammed VI (M6)

Morocco may have had a good lockdown after King Mohammed VI (M6) pushed Prime Minister Saad Eddine el Othmani's government into forcing some 36 million non-essential workers to stay at home (AC Vol 61 No 7 King takes charge)...

In the first week of Morocco's lockdown King Mohammed VI ordered a show of force his late father King Hassan II would have approved calling troops and tanks onto the streets of major cities...

King Mohammed VI (M6) maintains a firm grip on the capital El Ayoun the booming southern city of Dakhla the Phos-Boucraa phosphate company and other parts of the 'useful Sahara'...

Glittering projects driven by King Mohammed VI (M6) such as the TGV or Tanger-Med port point to a competitive economy being modernised...

Overcoming this is the key role of King Mohammed VI (M6)'s latest new body to re-engineer the economy and society the Commission spéciale sur le modèle de développement chaired by Chakib Benmoussa (see main article)...

Rumours of problems in King Mohammed VI (M6)'s marriage to Princess Lalla Salma (née Bennani) have persisted for years and the couple are now separated after 17 years although few details have emerged...

This led to a letter of protest from the Palace's French lawyer Eric Dupond-Moretti saying 'King Mohammed VI and his ex-wife Lalla Salma jointly' called such rumours 'intolerable'...

Algeria's diffuse protest movement is called hirak a term more familiar in Morocco where the Hirak al Shaabi ('Popular Movement') emerged from protests in Al Hoceima two years ago to spread to Rabat and other cities and shook the establishment despite action by King Mohammed VI to meet protestors' concerns (AC Vol 60 No 2 Anger and innovation & Vol 58 No 12 Rif in revolt)...

These trends will continue the pattern established since late 2016 when King Mohammed VI ('M6') returned from a lengthy stay abroad to take firmer control of domestic politics five years after the Arab Spring (AC Vol 58 No 2 Benkirane's 'bras de fer')...

The state-owned Office chérifien des phosphates (OCP) whose board is headed by King Mohammed VI exports 32% of its phosphate to the EU – equivalent to over $1...

Another senior minister – one of the most respected members of the coalition government led by Prime Minister Saad Eddine el Othmani's Islamist Parti de la justice et du développement (PJD) – has been sacked by King Mohammed VI (M6) in a fit of 'colère royale' (royal anger)...

In spite of a sustained lobbying effort by King Mohammed VI the bid seems run into the sand (AC Vol 58 No 25 Courtship and crackdowns)...