April 28, 2011.. a painful date which the city of Marrakech still remembers with bitterness.. a date which was synonymous with baseness of spirit, envying the ocher city for its hospitality and warmth. This is the date of the deadly attack at the Argana restaurant which left 17 victims and several dozen injured.
Commemorative stele
One year later, Marrakech still remembers the horror and decides to pay tribute to the victims of the Argana attack.. and so, a ceremony took place this Saturday morning at Jemaâ El Fna square, and more precisely at the site of the attack, Argana café: Release of 17 doves, distribution of roses, call for a world of peace, and message from King Mohammed VI. The ceremony took place in the presence of the families of the victims as well as the authorities Moroccan and French women who sent symbolic messages: « no to terrorism, yes for peace, friendship and fraternity ». In a message on behalf of the sovereign, the Minister of the Interior Mustapha Ramid thus expressed « the most vigorous condemnation of despicable terrorism (…) because it is contrary to the values of tolerance advocated by Islam ». For his part, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, through the voice of the Minister of Justice Michel Mercier, thanked Morocco for its « support » in these « tragic » circumstances and affirmed that the French « people » are « resolved never to give in in the face of intimidation and blind violence ». Fabienne Gérard, a French woman from Normandy who lost her daughter Marie-Christine thanked the king for granting her other daughter Louise, 20, injured in the attack, Moroccan nationality. “She sent him a letter to this effect in person and the sovereign said yes,” she told AFP.
And to engrave the names of the victims in the memory of any visitor to the site, a commemorative stele of the names of these victims was built at the site of the attack… These are people gathered in Marrakech out of love for the city, and died by the baseness of spirit of terrorism without a country: Eight French tourists, two Moroccans, two Canadians, a Russian, a Dutchman, a Portuguese, a Briton and a Swiss.
