French Court Allows Moroccan Sahara Produce Imports, Rebuffing Polisario Challenge

In this decision handed down on January 28, 2025, the French Council of State ruled that Charentais melons and cherry tomatoes produced in the Moroccan Sahara cannot be banned in France. It follows the complaint filed by the Confédération Paysanne, which demanded the ban on these fruits and vegetables grown in the Sahara and bearing a Moroccan label, recalls Challenge.

The association argues that Morocco is violating European Union rules on consumer information by labeling these products produced in the Sahara. For its part, the Council of State has sided with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which had stressed that in the area of trade policy, no EU member state is empowered to unilaterally ban the import of a product for labeling reasons.

Consequently, France cannot ban the import of fruits and vegetables produced in the Moroccan Sahara, the Council of State rules. This decision is a setback for the Polisario and its allies who hoped to use labeling as a pretext to impose trade barriers on Moroccan products.