French Government Distances Itself from Ruling Party’s Sahara Committee

"It is a locally taken initiative that I regret and which does not change anything to France’s position on this highly sensitive issue," Clément Beaune said during a question session to the government in the National Assembly. Algeria, protector of the Polisario, is questioning the opening of an LREM committee in the Sahara. The leadership of the ruling party maintains its decision, arguing that it is a "local initiative," reports the AFP.

After recalling the "permanent risk of tension" in the Sahara, the French Secretary of State for European Affairs emphasized the need to find a peaceful solution "within the framework of international legality and the United Nations." "The whole of this situation recalls the urgency of the only possible way, that of the resumption of a political process. This is the path of balance that France is defending," he said, adding that in this perspective, the Moroccan autonomy plan is a serious and credible basis for discussion that must be taken into account.