France is changing its stance in Western Sahara, seeking closer ties with Morocco

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — France has backed Morocco’s autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara, reversing a decades-old position and adding to a growing list of countries to align with Morocco as a the UN-mediated peace process remains blocked.

In a letter to King Mohammed VI, French President Emmanuel Macron called Morocco’s 2007 plan to give the region limited autonomy under its sovereignty the “only basis” for resolving the conflict. The change deals a blow to the pro-independence Polisario Front, which has claimed for decades to be the legitimate representative of the indigenous Saharawi people.

“The present and the future of Western Sahara fall within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty,” Macron wrote in a letter made public on Tuesday. “France intends to act consistently with this position both nationally and internationally.”

France’s exit from its historic position is a major victory for Morocco and follows similar changes from the United States, Israel, Spain and a growing list of African nations with which Morocco aims to deepen trade ties.

The move was preemptively rebuked by both Morocco’s regional foe Algeria and the Polisario Front in the days leading up to the letter’s publication.

Polisario’s Mohamed Sidati accused France of acting contrary to international law and supporting Moroccan expansionism as its influence wanes across Africa.

“Whatever difficulties Morocco tries to impose on us with the support of France, the Sahrawi people will continue to stubbornly defend their rights until they obtain the definitive departure of the Moroccan aggressor from their territory and the general recognition of the legitimacy of the struggle for self-autonomy. determination and independence,” Sidati, the foreign minister of the self-declared Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, said in a statement on Monday.

A senior Moroccan official who spoke on condition of anonymity called it “a game changer” amid an international shift toward Morocco’s position. They noted France’s role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, which oversees the peacekeeping mission that has mediated for decades between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front.

Algeria said France made it aware of the policy change in the days leading up to the announcement and called Morocco and France “colonial powers, new and old”.

“The French decision is clearly the result of a questionable political calculation, morally questionable judgment and legal interpretations that are neither supported nor justified,” Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement last week .

Morocco annexed Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, in 1975, sparking a conflict with the pro-independence Polisario Front, which the United Nations has long recognized as the legitimate representative of the Saharawi people.

The UN brokered a cease-fire in 1991 and established a peacekeeping mission to monitor the truce and help prepare a referendum on the territory’s future. Disagreements over who is eligible to vote prevented the referendum from taking place.

Morocco has long sought recognition of its claim from other nations, while the Polisario has prioritized legal battles to assert its right to represent the people and the territory. Sporadic violence has followed since the Polisario renewed armed conflict in 2020, ending a 29-year ceasefire.

The long-standing territorial dispute is a major factor in many of North Africa’s main problems, including migration, smuggling and counter-terrorism.

Sam Metz, The Associated Press