France’s support to Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara is a ‘true diplomatic turning point,’ said French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS) director, Pascal Boniface.

‘Sometimes, just a word is enough to deeply change a policy,’ noted Boniface, commenting on France’s new position on the Moroccan Sahara issue in a video posted on the IRIS website. In a message to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, French President Emmanuel Macron officially informed the Sovereign that he ‘considers that the present and future of Western Sahara lie within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty,’ highlighting France’s support to the Moroccan autonomy plan as ‘the only basis to achieve a just, lasting, and negotiated political solution, in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions.’ In this message, it’s the term “the only” that changes everything, noted the expert, adding that up until now France had supported the Moroccan autonomy plan drawn up in 2007, which is now, according to Paris, “th
e only plan” to reach a definitive settlement of the Sahara issue. France’s new position comes at a time when “Morocco has gained points on the diplomatic front,” with the United States and Spain in particular, and the Kingdom’s return to the African Union, which “has won it further support,” stressed the IRIS director, seeing it as “another victory” for Moroccan diplomacy. Welcoming Paris encouragement of French economic groups, “very present and very active” in Morocco, to invest in the southern provinces, the analyst is counting on the French head of State’s forthcoming visit to Morocco to consolidate this momentum.

Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse