On July 16, 2026, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is scheduled to meet Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch in Rabat for a high-level meeting. The visit comes five years after the Pegasus Project revelations in July 2021, which exposed a global spyware system used to hack smartphones of journalists, activists, and politicians.
The judicial investigation into the Pegasus spyware, led by French magistrates, remains ongoing. The spyware, developed by the Israeli company NSO Group, was allegedly used by several governments, including Morocco, to monitor targets. Morocco has consistently denied any involvement in illegal surveillance.
The meeting between Lecornu and Akhannouch is expected to cover bilateral cooperation, including economic and security issues. However, the timing of the visit, coinciding with the anniversary of the Pegasus revelations, has drawn attention to the unresolved legal proceedings.
As of July 2026, no final verdict has been reached in the French investigation. The case continues to strain diplomatic relations between France and Morocco, though both sides have expressed a desire to maintain cooperation.
