French Historian Claims Moroccan Lobbies Influence France-Algeria Relations

"I think there is a faction within French society that has always been in favor of the Moroccan monarchy for a very long time, which has always manifested this inclination on the Sahara issue in particular," Benjamin Stora said in an interview with the Algerian public channel Al24 News. The historian "thinks there have been pressures. I think there are groups that exist, that function and that are very influential within French society through television channels, media that are very powerful in France today, much more than before."

Addressing the tensions between France and Algeria, Benjamin Stora said that "it is a breach of trust that exists between the two countries." According to him, the restoration of trust between Algiers and Paris goes through the settlement of "the issue of memory, the issue of reparation and the implementation of a number of recommendations" that he had formulated in his report written in 2021 at the request of President Emmanuel Macron. The historian adds that "the issue of Western Sahara is not just the issue of memory. Because the political issue has come to collide with the work on memory that has begun."

To recall, the crisis between the two countries opened in the aftermath of France’s recognition, on July 31 last, of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara. Paris considers the Moroccan autonomy plan as the "only basis" for resolving the conflict in the Sahara. In reaction to this decision, Algeria recalled its ambassador to Paris on August 1. The post has remained vacant since then. Algeria would blame the French president for having yielded to the pressure of the right and the far right, some influential members of which like Éric Ciotti and Rachida Dati have called for recognizing the Moroccanness of the Sahara and "rebalancing" France’s policy in the Maghreb.