After French President Macron announced his support for a solution plan based on autonomy under Rabat’s sovereignty in the Western Sahara region of Morocco, he became the target of criticism for distancing France from its “balance” policy.
Emmanuel Macron’s adoption of a pro-Moroccan political line on the Western Sahara issue has led to new tensions in relations with Morocco’s neighbor and former French colony Algeria, while French opposition members found the government’s move to be against international law.
“Emmanuel Macron betrayed France’s historical and balanced stance on United Nations (UN) resolutions and the rights of the Saharawi people,” said Fabien Roussel, Secretary General of the French Communist Party (PCF), in a post he shared on his X account.
Roussel accused Macron of “causing a diplomatic crisis” after he changed his approach in favor of Morocco on the Western Sahara issue.
French Green Party (EELV) President Marine Tondelier also lashed out at Macron for his approach to the Western Sahara issue.
Tondelier, in a post he made on his X account, used the phrases, “Macron’s international fiasco continues. He caused a diplomatic crisis in the middle of summer,” and accused the French President of betraying the country’s “historical stance based on international law and the right of peoples to self-determination.”
Tondelier pointed to Macron and described this decision taken by “the only man in the National Assembly without a majority and without a government” as a “historical mistake.”
Hadrien Clouet, a member of parliament from the largest left-wing party in the parliament, France Unbowed (LFI), said in a post, “Macron recognizes the Fascation of Western Sahara after losing the elections. We believe that this hasty decision taken at the Paris Olympics, which is against international law, was an undeniable mistake.”
Right-wingers support Macron’s approach to Western Sahara
Senate President Gerard Larcher, from the right-wing Republican Party (LR), described France’s change of approach to the Western Sahara issue as “key” in his statement.
“It was time to take the facts into account and to emerge from a sterile uncertainty,” Larcher said, supporting Macron’s decision.
Marine Le Pen, the deputy leader of the far-right National Rally Party (RN) parliamentary group, also commented on the X post that France “has been too late to recognize the decades-long commitment to the security and stability of Western Sahara, an integral part of Morocco.”
Eric Ciotti, the former leader of the Republicans and an ally of the RN in the elections, stated in his post that he was pleased with Macron’s decision as one of the “historical defenders of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara”.
Macron’s Western Sahara Approach Strains Relations with Algeria
Macron’s announcement that he supports a Moroccan-sovereign solution to the Western Sahara issue has created new tensions in relations with Algeria, which supports the pro-independence Polisario Front in Western Sahara.
Algeria said France was acting contrary to international law by adopting a political line supporting Moroccan expansionism in Western Sahara.
In a statement made by the Algerian Foreign Ministry on the subject, the rapprochement between Morocco and France, described as “new and old colonial powers”, was reacted to.
The statement stressed that “the Sahrawi people will continue to stubbornly defend their rights, no matter what difficulties Morocco tries to impose with the support of France.”
Algeria Withdraws Ambassador from Paris
Algeria announced yesterday that it had decided to withdraw its Ambassador to Paris, Said Musa.
The Algerian Foreign Ministry announced that the decision to withdraw the ambassador from Paris was taken in response to the French government’s move to recognize the Moroccan sovereignty plan as the only solution for the disputed Western Sahara.
The statement stated that Algeria would thus conduct diplomatic relations with Paris at the level of chargé d’affaires.
Macron supports Moroccan-sovereign solution in Western Sahara
In his letter to King Mohammed VI on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his accession to the throne, Macron stated that France viewed the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty as an appropriate framework for the solution of the Western Sahara issue.
Macron described France’s move, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), as an extremely important development that supports Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Emphasizing that the present and future of Western Sahara depend on Morocco’s sovereignty, Macron noted that France intends to act in line with this stance at national and international levels.
The Western Sahara issue
Tensions between the pro-independence Polisario Front, which Algeria supports after Morocco annexed the former Spanish colony Western Sahara in 1975, and the Rabat administration continue.
While Morocco argues that the region should remain under its sovereignty, the Polisario Front claims that Western Sahara is an independent state.
The Polisario Front waged an armed struggle against Moroccan security forces until a UN-mediated ceasefire agreement was reached in 1991. Since the ceasefire agreement, negotiations on the status of Western Sahara have failed.
