French minister’s visit to Western Sahara angers Algeria

France’s culture minister Rachida Dati became the first French official to make a formal visit to the Western Sahara on February 17th in a display of Paris’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed territory, reported RFI.

“The visit of a French government official is of particular gravity,” the Algerian foreign ministry said in a February 18th statement, and added that it was “condemnable on more than one account”.

Algiers also slammed the “detestable image of a former colonial power in solidarity with a new one”.

RFI