Western Sahara: New French ambassador visits disputed territory
Philippe Lalliot, the new French ambassador, inaugurated the new headquarters of the Alliance Française in Laâyoune on July 1st in the presence of local authorities from the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region.
Moroccan-French ties will likely be reaffirmed following the visit of France’s new Moroccan ambassador to Laayoune, according to the pro-Moroccan North Africa Post and agencies on July 2nd.
Philippe Lalliot has started his diplomatic mission in Laayoune, the capital of the Western Sahara, which has been under de facto Moroccan occupation since Spanish colonial rule ended in 1975.
He follows in the footsteps of his predecessor, Christophe Lecourtier, who visited Dakhla and Laayoune in 2024; in 2025, Lecourtier announced the opening of a visa application centre in Laayoune.
Dakhla is also situated within the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara, which is viewed as a gateway for European-African trade.
Lalliot’s visit included talks focusing on socioeconomic development projects and French-Moroccan cooperation in areas such as investment, culture and education.
Additionally, Lalliot inaugurated the French Alliance of Laayoune, which seeks to promote the French language and enhance intercultural dialogue.
France is among 130 nations endorsing the Moroccan Autonomy Plan, which grants the Western Sahara limited self-governance under Moroccan sovereignty; the plan is widely perceived as a solution to the decades-long territorial dispute.
Moroccan sovereignty is backed by the majority of European nations, including Britain, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands.
African nations, including Guinea-Bissau, Gabon, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, have also expressed support for Moroccan sovereignty.
However, France’s support for Moroccan sovereignty led to a breakdown in relations with its former colony, Algeria.
The Algerian-backed Polisario Front have rejected Moroccan sovereignty and claims to engage in armed struggle on behalf of the Sahrawi people, who are indigenous to the Western Sahara.
Displaced by decades of conflict, many Sahrawi people reside in refugee camps, such as the Polisario-controlled Tindouf camps in southern Algeria.
Concerns about the camps becoming an extremist hub have been raised; the Tindouf camps have allegedly hosted Hezbollah militants, Tuareg and Kurdish separatists.
Sahrawi activists have accused Morocco and its allies of exploiting the resource-rich Western Sahara, as foreign companies scramble to invest in the disputed territory.
In October 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans for French investment in the Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty; Algeria has repeatedly denounced foreign investment in the region.
Maghrebi has contacted the French Embassy in Morocco for comment on Lalliot’s visit to Laayoune, but has not received a response at the time of publication.
North Africa Post and agencies, Maghrebi.org
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