French Ambassador to Morocco Visits the Occupied Sahrawi Territories

The French authorities have crossed the point of no return in their relations with Algeria, after allowing their ambassador to the Moroccan regime, Christophe Lecourtier, to visit the occupied Sahrawi territories, a step that the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, who was the first to support the alleged Moroccan sovereignty over the occupied Sahrawi territories, did not dare to accept.

The French ambassador to Rabat broke international law by visiting the occupied Sahrawi territories (Laayoune and Dakhla) on Monday and Tuesday of this week, at the head of a delegation from the embassy, according to a press release issued by the French diplomatic mission in the Alaouite Kingdom, becoming the first senior European diplomat to visit this region whose sovereignty is disputed by both the Moroccan regime and the Polisario Front, which is considered the sole legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, based on the UN decisions.

The French official’s visit to the occupied Sahrawi territories constitutes a flagrant violation of the ruling of the European Court of Justice, issued on October 4, 2024, which ruled that the Alawite Kingdom has no sovereignty over Western Sahara. This decision has become final and applies to the French state as it falls within the jurisdiction of the European court.

The former US ambassador to Morocco, David Fischer, is the only Western diplomat to have visited the occupied Sahrawi territories in January 2021, which coincided with the last days of the term of the former US President and returning to the presidency, Donald Trump. However, with the arrival of the outgoing President, Joe Biden, he froze the “tweet” that Trump posted immediately after losing the US presidential elections in November 2020, in which he supported, as is known, the alleged sovereignty of the Alawite regime over Western Sahara, and also abandoned the establishment of an American consulate in the occupied Sahrawi city of Dakhla.

The French diplomat was accompanied by a delegation of French entrepreneurs, in preparation for engaging in investment projects in the region, in line with the promises of the French President before and during his visit to the Alaouite Kingdom.

Although the visit of the French ambassador is considered a foregone conclusion after everything that has happened since last summer, it constitutes a new provocation for Algeria given its firm and principled position on the Sahrawi issue.

The French authorities are aware that such a step would further complicate the already tense relations with Algeria, but Paris’s intention and pursuit of this approach indicates that the current is no longer passing between Algeria and Paris. The Algerian diplomatic representation in Paris is at the lowest level of representation (it was reduced to the level of chargé d’affaires), and Ambassador Said Moussi, who was recalled for consultation, was transferred to the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, which indicates that Algeria does not intend to restore diplomatic representation with France to the normal level, at least in the foreseeable future.

Algeria has not commented on French positions regarding Paris’ relations with the Moroccan regime or those related to Western Sahara, since its famous statement following Macron’s announcement of support for the alleged Moroccan sovereignty over the occupied Sahrawi territories, which said: “The Algerian government will draw all the conclusions and consequences that result from this French decision and holds the French government alone fully and completely responsible for it.”

However, showing indifference to the recent French positions does not mean that it has submitted to the fait accompli. Many French interests in Algeria, and there are many of them, will undoubtedly be harmed, and according to observers, the Algerian side is waiting for the right time to strike. Is this the calm before the storm?