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Algerian diplomacy expected this so-called change of “rhetoric” from France on the issue of Western Sahara, the oldest conflict in Africa. A more direct French change of direction that unilaterally goes in the direction of the interests of the Moroccan monarchy, which has become the occupying power of the Sahrawi territory since 1975.
This Parisian position did not surprise anyone, since since 2007, the year of the famous Moroccan annexation plan towards which the Elysée was favorable, supporting in secret the expansionist aims of the makhzen. At the time, it was a question of support for the plan, but without validation of the “Moroccanness” of the Sahrawi territory. A position that sought much more an equidistance from the status of France, as a permanent member within the Security Council of the United Nations.
However, for several months, more precisely in February 2024, when the brand new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, had clearly displayed this French “reframing”, with “unequivocal” and “without nuance” terms, the change at the Elysée was evident.
From Rabat, Séjourné announced unambiguously that France, due to economic interests, would take into consideration Moroccan ambitions over the occupied Sahara and that he would “personally monitor”.
Since then, two major facts have reinforced this development. First, the green light granted by Paris to dozens of French companies to set up in the occupied Sahara and a substantial investment policy, reaching several hundred million euros. Then, the proven, direct and frank support from the most prominent political figures of the Macronist party and the French far right, punctuated by multiple visits to Casablanca, Marrakech and Dakhla.
Are we heading towards a new bilateral crisis between Algeria and France, while a visit by the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune to France has been announced and planned for next autumn?
For observers, Algeria wants to protect the delicate future of relations between the two countries, not closing any doors. “We do not spit on tomorrow,” said a former diplomat. Certainly, the divide is deep, but diplomacy can accommodate certain angles or disputes, and the most improbable developments could occur on the geopolitical scene in perpetual gestation in the region. The press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls for a calm reading of events in order to protect Algerian-French relations from the harmful effects following the paradigm shift at Matignon.
The Algerian reaction to this French support cannot be similar to the one that triggered the diplomatic crisis between Algeria and Spain in 2022, when the Iberian Prime Minister decided unilaterally to support this plan for the annexation of Western Sahara, known as the autonomy plan. Algiers’ anger was motivated by several reasons, the most important of which is the status of Spain, as the former occupying power of the Sahrawi territory. Madrid is still involved, in terms of international law, by the UN resolutions, on the decolonization of the territory and especially the organization of the referendum for self-determination of the Sahrawi people.
Finally, it should be emphasized that this position of the Elysée is in no way different from the hegemonic military history of France, for centuries. It poses a moral and ethical problem. A country that has colonized territories and degraded peoples throughout the world, denying their cultures and identities. It is obvious that this France can only support the policies of modern colonization and illegal and unjust annexations.