French pensioners prefer Morocco

It is an authentic city where it is nice to live ', affirms the couple. Especially since two years, the real projects of retirement in Morocco have made considerable rise. More and more of French seniors build their small palaces of dream. From its very pleasant climate, a life much less expensive than in France, the French pensioners live a quiet retirement in Morocco. For approximately 2 million DH the hectare, some even made build their Riad or a villa with swimming pool.


At 69 years old, Bertrand Peloton is owner of a sublime villa in the Souissi district, in Agadir. Of French nationality, father of two sons now married, this former civil engineer intends finishing his days in Agadir where he is installed since two years 'I have not hesitate to take my retirement in Morocco because if I remained in France, I have be financially obliged to continue to work up to 70 years old', he explains. Morocco offers for these pensioners many taxation advantages: all the pensioners profit from a tax reduction of 40 % (reduction on the tax).

Moreover, the pensioners whose pension is from foreign origin have an additional abatement of 80 % on their tax. For French pensioners, it is a good mean of escaping from the taxation 'the fact that a wave of seniors unload in Morocco is without any doubt in connection with very advantageous measures of a tax nature for those who would wish to retire in Morocco and to become resident there. Lot of our visitors are tired to be punctured during decades according to their own terms ', affirms Laurent Paul Alteresco, manager of Ramses Consulting, in Rabat, who is precisely accompany and advise these new migrants in their project of installation in Morocco.

Compared to the local standard of living, the French pensioners are comfortable at the point to have the means of engaging the house staff who is paid with the minimum wage of 2.000 Dh per month. The consulate of France in Marrakech estimates the number of French pensioners, officially registered at 350 people without counting those who make regular stays of approximately 3 months. If the destination of Marrakech is covered by the media, the other cities are not less attractive for these pensioners. 'The passion of the French seniors for Morocco is not limited at only one city, but to the whole of the Kingdom. As regards long stays, the request is widened much, in particular on the axis of Rabat- Mohammedia - El Jadida without forgetting Essaouira, i.e. the Atlantic littoral, also the North, namely the Mediterranean littoral ', explains Laurent Paul Alteresco.'

Our observation is that the seniors privilege the health, climate, culture equation, for the choice of their residence ', continues Mr. Alteresco. The French pensioners installed in Morocco come especially from Paris area, followed by the east (Strasbourg) and the North (Lille), without forgetting Lyon. But there are also those who come from South-west (Bordeaux-Toulouse). 'More we go up towards the north of France, and Europe, as we have important Anglo-Saxon customers, more we have candidatures for the installation in the sunny cities', underlines Mr. Alteresco. The French pensioners are right well to have crossed the Straits of Gibraltar to settle in Morocco: the air is softer there and life less expensive. Marianne, a French widow rents an apartment of 120 m², located in the centre of Rabat at 4000 DH. In the suburbs of Paris for a smaller apartment, she pays much more.

Then rather than to settle in Province to spend their old days there, more and more French pensioners choose, for the same price, to live like princes under the sun.

Chifaâ Nassir -
Maroc hebdo International