Moroccan flag burned in Aubervilliers: Morocco's embassy in France files complaint

Morocco’s embassy in France filed a complaint with French authorities after a Moroccan flag was torn down, burned and ripped in public in Aubervilliers, Seine-Saint-Denis, on the evening of July 4.

The incident occurred in the Quatre-Chemins district, following Morocco’s victory over Canada, which qualified the Atlas Lions for a possible World Cup quarter-final against France. In a statement released Monday, the embassy condemned “with the utmost firmness the serious and unworthy incidents” that occurred that evening, noting that “several documented and authenticated elements show the flag of the Kingdom of Morocco torn down, burned and ripped in public by individuals chanting slogans indicating their Algerian origin”.

The embassy described these acts as an “unacceptable outrage” constituting “a serious attack on an official symbol of sovereignty and national unity”. It also reported that women wearing the Moroccan national team jersey, accompanied by young children, were victims of verbal abuse and intimidation attempts by the same individuals.

These tensions are part of a tense geopolitical context between Morocco and Algeria, two countries that have maintained a serious dispute for many years over Western Sahara, a territory controlled four-fifths by Rabat but claimed by the Polisario Front, a Sahrawi independence movement supported by Algiers.

The prospect of a France-Morocco quarter-final at the 2026 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, promises to fuel passions further in France, where both communities are widely represented.