France has thrown its support behind Morocco’s autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara, shifting a decades-old position, The Associated Press reported.
In a letter to King Mohammed VI, President Emmanuel Macron called the plan that Morocco proposed in 2007 to offer the region limited autonomy under its sovereignty the “only basis” to solve the conflict.
“The present and 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 at both national and international level.”
In a statement, Moroccan King Mohammed VI’s Royal Cabinet called France’s shift “a significant development.” A high-ranking Moroccan official who spoke on the condition of anonymity noted France’s role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and called it “a game-changer” amid an international shift toward Morocco’s position.
Macron’s move is unlikely to change the key tenets of the territorial dispute but could deepen France ties with Morocco.
Morocco considers Western Sahara its own territory, but the Algerian-backed Polisario Front wants an independent state there.
Then-US President Donald Trump agreed to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara as part of the 2020 deal in which Morocco became the fourth Arab country to normalize ties with Israel, as part of the Abraham Accords.
Israel last year formally recognized Morocco's sovereignty over the territory of Western Sahara as well.
Algeria, which supports the Polisario Front’s claims and allows it to operate as a self-declared government in exile from refugee camps within its borders, announced in 2021 that it is severing its diplomatic relations with Morocco over what it called "hostile actions" on the part of Morocco.
In 2020, the head of Algeria's largest Islamist party labeled Morocco's Prime Minister a "traitor" over his country’s decision to normalize ties with Israel.