Questioned on Tuesday by a journalist about France’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, stated that this issue "will be settled" between the leaders of the two countries.
The Sahara issue remains one of the points of friction between Rabat and Algiers, which unilaterally broke off diplomatic relations with its neighbor in 2021. Professor Abderrahim Manar Slimi believes that France’s recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara would have a negative impact on Algeria, the protector of the Polisario.
France is making the necessary efforts to warm up its relations with Morocco. Éric Besson, former French Minister of Industry, believes that the next step should be for France to recognize the Moroccanness of the Sahara. A recognition long awaited by Rabat.
The Polisario, protected by Algeria, is expressing its opposition to the financing by the French Development Agency (AFD) of French projects in the Sahara.
Several Polisario militiamen were reportedly killed near the southern border of Morocco by an attack by the Royal Armed Forces (FAR).
The recent statements by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on the Sahara and the Maghreb Union bring a certain hope to Moroccans and Algerians - especially those living on the borders between the two countries - but they could well be disappointed.
The French hotel giant Accor plans to build several hotels in the Moroccan Sahara, as part of the new policy of the French state to finance specific investment projects in this territory.
Relations between Rabat and Paris are strengthening. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given the green light for the financing of projects in the Moroccan Sahara.
The naval exercises conducted by Morocco off the Canary Islands are taking place in "well-defined and very remote areas from Spanish waters," assured the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, after the concerns expressed by the government of the archipelago.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune returned on Saturday, during a talk show, to relations with Morocco, the Sahara issue, tensions with the United Arab Emirates and the initiative for a Maghreb consultation framework.
Morocco and the United States are finalizing the preparations for the 2024 edition of African Lion, the military exercises they co-organize each year in the kingdom. As in the previous year, the Spanish army will not participate in this twentieth edition scheduled for late May.
Algeria looks askance at the joint organization by Morocco and the United States of "African Lion 2024", the largest military exercise in Africa, on Moroccan territory, particularly in the Sahara. A former Algerian minister is expressing his opposition and calling on Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, to cancel it.