French President, Emmanuel Macron, has reiterated his government’s stance of support for Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, pledging to maintain and increase France’s investments into the territory.
In an address to the Moroccan parliament on Tuesday, French President Macron mentioned the Western Sahara region in Morocco’s southern territories, stating that “for France, this territory’s present and future fall under Morocco’s sovereignty”.
Macron also assured that French companies “will support the development” of the Western Sahara region, pledging further “investments and sustainable support initiatives to benefit local populations”.
The French President’s remarks – which were met by applause from lawmakers – were made during his three-day state visit to Morocco, at the invitation of King Mohammed VI after his Royal Court hailed as “significant” France’s declaration of support for Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory back in July.
Inside Dakhla, the potential trade and tourist hub between the Sahara and the Atlantic
Macron also addressed colonialism in his address, stating that Paris’s and Rabat’s “common history also has dark parts. The time came for unequal treaties, when hubris and the mechanical force of European countries imposed themselves around the world, and when, even disguised as a protectorate, Morocco did not escape the ambitions and the violence of colonial history”. He stopped short of offering an official apology on behalf of the French state, however.
Over the decades, deals with Morocco involving Western Sahara and particularly investments into the region, have been an issue of controversy amongst European states. Concerns stemmed from the unresolved political status of the disputed territory in Rabat’s battle for control against the Algerian-backed Polisario Front militia, which seeks separatism and independence of the Western Sahara and its Sahrawi population from the Moroccan state.
That has been changing over the past few years, however, with a number of EU member states – including France as one of the most prominent – recognising Morocco’s sovereignty. Such moves were countered by the EU’s top court earlier this month, which ruled in favour of upholding the cancellation of trade deals enabling Morocco to export Sahrawi products to the bloc.