France shifts stance over disputed Western Sahara

France backs Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara, aligning with growing list of countries amid stalled UN peace process.

France has backed Morocco’s autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara, shifting a decades-old position and adding itself to a growing list of countries to align with Morocco as a UN-mediated peace process remains stalled.

In a letter to King Mohammed VI, France’s President Emmanuel Macron called the plan that Morocco proposed in 2007 to offer the region limited autonomy under its sovereignty the “only basis” to solve the conflict.

The shift deals a blow to the pro-independence Polisario Front, which has for decades claimed to be the legitimate representative of the indigenous Saharawi people. “The present and future of Western Sahara fall within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty,” Mr. Macron wrote in a letter made public on Tuesday. “France intends to act consistently with this position at both national and international level.”

France’s shift came as a major victory for Morocco and followed similar shifts from the U.S., Israel, Spain and a growing list of African nations with which Morocco aims at deepening trade ties. The move was preemptively rebuked by both Morocco’s regional foe Algeria and the Polisario Front in the days leading up to the publication of letter.

The Polisario’s Mohamed Sidati accused France of acting at odds with international law and backing Moroccan expansionism as its influence wanes throughout Africa.