A few days after the resumption of dialogue with Algeria, France reiterated its steadfast support for the Moroccan sovereignty over its Sahara. This was the message expressed by Foreign Minister Jean Noël Barrot before the French National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
“A few months ago, we expressed our vision of the present and future of the Western Sahara, within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty, as a direct consequence of the Moroccan autonomy plan,” said the head of French diplomacy at a hearing on Wednesday before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly.
“There are no other realistic and credible solutions today,” he added.
This is part of “a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution within the framework of the United Nations, and we support the UN’s efforts to bring about this dialogue”, Barrot underlined, adding that he will have the opportunity “to discuss this in the few coming days with my Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita in Paris”.
In a message addressed to King Mohammed VI in July 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron asserted that France “considers that the present and future of Western Sahara lie within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty”.
Macron had reaffirmed “the unwavering position of France on this issue of national security for the Kingdom” and asserted that his country “intends to act in alignment with this position both nationally and internationally.”
The statement by the head of French diplomacy comes a few days after the phone call between President Macron and his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmajid Tebboune, who agreed to relaunch bilateral cooperation.