On Tuesday, France implemented a ban on unsolicited commercial calls, a move that poses a significant threat to the Moroccan call center industry, potentially endangering between 40,000 and 50,000 jobs. This alarming development arises from the sector's heavy dependence on the French market, which has long been a cornerstone of its business operations.
The new legislation, adopted on June 30, 2025, mandates that telemarketing efforts can only proceed with the explicit consent of customers. This regulation applies to Moroccan companies that provide services to French clients, compelling them to adhere to the same stringent guidelines as their French counterparts. Under these regulations, only service providers holding active contracts are permitted to reach out to customers for technical or support-related inquiries. Non-compliance can lead to severe penalties, including fines of up to €75,000 (approximately $86,000) for individuals and €375,000 (about $430,000) for companies, alongside the risk of losing operating licenses.
According to French authorities, this crackdown is necessary due to a staggering 113% increase in complaints regarding unsolicited calls in 2025, with around 97% of respondents expressing strong disapproval of cold calls in a survey conducted in 2024. The ramifications for Morocco could be profound, as highlighted by Younes Sekkouri, Morocco’s Minister of Economic Inclusion, who noted that over 80% of revenue generated by offshore customer relationship centers originates from France. The call center sector in Morocco provides nearly 120,000 direct jobs, predominantly for youth and recent graduates, in addition to approximately 50,000 indirect jobs. In 2023, the sector attracted around 1.3 billion dirhams (about $130 million) in investments and contributes an estimated 10 to 12 billion dirhams to the nation's gross domestic product.
Challenges for Smaller Call Centers
Union representatives have raised concerns regarding the accuracy of the job loss estimates, suggesting that the potential impact could be underestimated. Ayoub Saoud, a union leader, commented in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde that many smaller call centers, which heavily rely on cold-calling campaigns targeting French customers, are particularly vulnerable and may struggle to adapt to the new regulations. Officially, more than 600 call centers are authorized to operate in Morocco; however, numerous others function without proper authorization. This disparity in compliance readiness could lead to disproportionate effects across the outsourcing industry, with companies specializing in customer service and technical support likely to cope better with the changes compared to those focused predominantly on outbound sales calls.
Pressure on the Industry to Innovate
The introduction of these new French regulations coincides with an existing urgency for Morocco’s call center industry to evolve its business model. Anas Benbrahim, a former call center employee, indicated that this legislation is hastening a decline that had already commenced, potentially leading to a substantial shock within the sector in the near future. In response to these challenges, the Moroccan government announced plans in March to implement measures aimed at mitigating the effects of the French law. These initiatives include facilitating the expansion of companies into alternative European markets such as Germany, Spain, and Italy. However, union representatives argue that the proposed support measures have yet to materialize into tangible actions.
As the Moroccan outsourcing industry grapples with these new challenges, the immediate priority lies in accurately assessing the number of jobs genuinely exposed to the French restrictions and devising strategies for companies to pivot toward new markets and services quickly.
As reported by en.hespress.com.
