Macron’s Party Opens a Branch in the Sahara Regions
Recently, the French President Emmanuel Macron's party, "The Republic Forward", announced the opening of two offices in Morocco, one of them in the city of Dakhla in the Western Sahara region.
On April 8, 2021, a statement was announced by the party, which clarified that the leader of the party, Claude Fraissent, will head the Dakhla Committee, and Fraissent served as the regional representative of the French Chamber of Commerce in Morocco, and previously opened a branch of it in the Saharan city.
In the past few months, Dakhla witnessed the opening of a series of consulates through which a number of countries recognized Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara, which is in dispute with the Polisario Front backed by Algeria.
On December 10, 2020, former US President Donald Trump announced his country's recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara region, and the opening of a US consulate in the region.
Will the ruling party in France admit Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara? And why was the closest country to Rabat in the European Union delaying the recognition of the Moroccan Sahara?
Ruling Party
The party’s statement said that the aim of the opening of the two offices is to “strengthen the party’s network in the Maghreb and West African constituencies,and it comes to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the president’s party.”
However, a report published by the "Le 360" website, which is close to the ruling circles in Morocco, said that "Macron's party is taking the lead in frankly following the American recognition of the Moroccan area in the Sahara."
However, the site added in its report on its French version, that the pursuit of recognition exists, "although France, as a country, is slow in this regard."
Several French leading figures have clearly called on their country to recognize "Morocco's sovereignty over its southern provinces." And the report reviewed Jean-Louis Borloo among them, the minister with various ministerial positions and the second man in the French government from 2007 to 2010.
In December 2020, the French politician considered that the European Union should follow " the same path" and also recognize the full sovereignty of Morocco over the Sahara, as the US administration did, seeking to close this file definitively.
"The European Union must understand that Morocco is not only a distinguished partner, but a very vital partner in relations between Europe and Africa," the former member of the European Parliament said in a statement to MAP, expressing his hope that the US decision will have an "impact" on the countries that make up Including the European bloc, led by France.
The report also mentioned that a member of the Republican Party in the French National Assembly and former Minister of State, Francois de Roger, "did not hesitate to stress the need to change the paradigm in Europe - especially in France - on the issue of the Sahara."
De Roger, in turn, considered that "the American announcement makes it possible to move towards a permanent solution to this situation, which cannot be defended over time, and it is preferable not to have a strong conflict in that, which does not take into account the facts that have existed since Several decades. "
Bruno Fox, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, considers that "the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco is a just, realistic and durable solution to the Sahara conflict."
The French politician of the ruling party declared that Morocco can count on France, which considers it a strong, reliable and durable partner in a number of files, "as well as its ability to develop self-government processes."
For his part, Christian Cambon, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces Committee of the French Senate, confirmed on more than one occasion that France supports the autonomy solution, as a permanent and peaceful solution to the Sahara conflict, considering that recognition by the United States can "make the region go towards Peace and development. "
Hostile Stream
In an interview with the Algerian newspaper "El Khabar", Hosni Abidi, Director of the Center for Studies and Research on the Arab World and the Mediterranean Countries in Geneva, said that the Western Sahara issue is "sensitive" for Algeria.
Abidi considered Emmanuel Macron's party’s decision to open an office in Dakhla, which is within the territories claimed by Polisario, a French “provocation,” and the Algerian researcher estimated that “there is an anti-Algerian movement (within Macron's party) that wants to keep tension between the two countries.”
The Algerian newspaper "Al-Watan" quoted the Algerian ambassador to France, Mohamed Antar Daoud, as saying that "pressure groups are working against a friendly understanding between Algeria and France," and what is meant by these repeated accusations is the extreme right and the "French Algeria Supporters" group.
In a report published by Agence France-Presse, on April 5, 2021, it said that five years after its founding, the performance of the "Republic Forward" party led by President Emmanuel Macron is no longer excellent after it failed to become a widespread party. He intends to improve his position with the campaign to reelect Macron in 2022.
According to the agency, the Republic to the Imam was the first party in France in terms of its wealth (23 million euros) and even the number of its affiliates (420,000), and it knew at that time successful legislative elections that were followed by failed municipal elections in preparation for the regional elections next June.
For his part, Jean-Paul Lowcock, the French representative and head of the group of studies on Western Sahara, described Macron's party's move to open a branch in the occupied city of Dakhla as "another attempt to contempt international law" by Paris in the footsteps of Donald Trump.
On April 10, 2021, a French parliamentarian commented on this step, saying: "10 days before the discussions in the United Nations Security Council, regarding the renewal of the mission of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), we learned that Emmanuel Macron's party decided to celebrate. With the passing of 5 years since its establishment, by opening an office in the city of Dakhla, and indicating its location in the southern provinces of Morocco.
In this regard, Lowcock considered that "Dakhla is a city in Western Sahara, which Morocco has occupied for more than 40 years, as confirmed by international law and more than 40 United Nations resolutions."
"The ruling party’s move, which contradicts international law, is not only in the same direction as Trump's declaration of the alleged sovereignty of Morocco over Western Sahara, but it is worse than it because it was done in a twisted and deceptive way," the deputy explained.
Cooperation Relationships
Morocco and France have deep-rooted cooperation relations, covering various economic, cultural and security fields, according to Hicham Berjawi, professor at the Cadi Ayyad University, in Marrakesh, Morocco.
The doctor of international relations said to "Independence": "Since the emergence of the Sahara issue, the French position has been close to Morocco's position, and this French positioning became clearer after the issuance of Morocco's proposal on autonomy, as the French presidents expressed their support for this proposal, considering it the most realistic solution for the issue of the Sahara. "
Also, Berjaoui added: “It was noticed that after the United States recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, some European countries hid behind confused statements, such as Spain, and others openly demanded the application of the principle of self-determination, such as Sweden and the Netherlands, while the French position was distinguished by less confusion.
The international relations expert went on to say, "Here we must remember that President Emmanuel Macron, during his visit to Algeria, had previously stated that the latter is a main party in the conflict over the Sahara, and has the same attitude as Morocco, which considers that the Polisario Front is only a tool in which the Algerian regime controls."
Bergawi believes that, compared to the stances expressed by European countries, France's official position remains less ambiguous, and more close to the Moroccan position.
What increases the harmony and sophistication of this conclusion, the spokesman says, “The political party to which Macron belongs to open a branch in the city of Dakhla, a city that enjoys a historical, symbolic and economic specificity in the Sahara, where several countries previously opened consular representations in recognition of the sovereignty of Morocco Over the desert. "
