French minister’s visit to Western Sahara angers Algeria

The visit of the French Culture Minister to the Western Sahara has angered Algeria, in the latest spat between the two countries.
Reported by RFI on February 18th, Paris’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a territory for which Algeria defends claims for independence, shows “contempt” for international law.
Rachida Dati, the French Culture Minister, declared the visit a “strong symbolic and political moment,” where, in conducting an official visit with the Moroccan Culture Minister, led France to become the second permanent UN Security Council Member to back Morocco’s position.
Dati visited the annexed territory to establish the first French culture centre to “benefit children in the region, but also teachers, schools, students, and teacher trainers,” as well as signing a cooperation agreement in the field of cinema and audiovisual art, as reported by Maghrebi.
Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony controlled by Rabat but claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, with the UN calling for an eventual referendum in the region, showing support for the notion of national self-determination.
In contrast, France and the US, by supporting Morocco’s claim to the territory, has angered Algiers who sees the move as “a blatant contempt for international law by a permanent member of the Security Council, contributes to the consolidation of Morocco’s fair accompli in Western Sahara – a territory where the decolonization process remains unfinished,” reported RFI, before adding the visit was “condemnable on more than one account.”
Algiers also slammed, “the detestable image of a former colonial power in solidarity with a new one,” referring to France’s historic role as a brutal colonial power in Algeria and other north African states, and accusing Morocco of adopting a colonizing position over Western Sahara, where the exercise of the right to self-determination is being ignored.
Rabat’s relations with the West, particularly France and the US, have improved since 2020 – the year after Morocco normalized ties with Israel in a deal that awarded it US recognition of Western Sahara’s annexation. Macron’s support for Morocco coincided with economic deals worth over $10 billion being signed, along with the release of four French “spies” held in Burkina Faso.
RFI, Maghrebi
Want to chase the pulse of North Africa? Enter your email address and name to receive our weekly newsletter.