Algeria condemned the visit of French Culture Minister Rachida Dati to Western Sahara on Tuesday, February 18, labeling it “objectionable on multiple levels” following France’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the contested region. This expansive desert area, once a Spanish colony, is predominantly under Moroccan control but has been claimed for decades by the Polisario Front, which is supported by Algeria.
Dati characterized her visit as “historic” and, alongside Moroccan Culture Minister Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, initiated a French cultural mission in Laayoune, the territory’s principal city.
An official statement from the Algerian foreign ministry, shared on social media, criticized the visit as a “blatant disregard for international legality by a permanent member of the UN Security Council.” It further asserted that the visit strengthens Morocco’s established presence in Western Sahara, a region where the decolonization process is still incomplete and the right to self-determination has yet to be realized.
Dati’s journey, marking the first by a French official, “illustrates the unfavorable perception of a former colonial power aligning itself with a new one,” the statement continued.
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The United Nations classifies Western Sahara as a “non-self-governing territory” and has maintained a peacekeeping mission there since 1991, aimed at facilitating a referendum regarding the territory’s future. However, Rabat has consistently opposed any vote that includes the option of independence, instead advocating for autonomy under Moroccan governance. France’s position on Western Sahara has been unclear in recent years, often causing tension in its relationship with Morocco.
Nevertheless, in July, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that Rabat’s autonomy proposal is the “only basis” for resolving the Western Sahara conflict. Algeria has supported the separatist Polisario Front and severed diplomatic ties with Rabat in 2021, following Morocco’s normalization of relations with Israel, which included US recognition of its annexation of Western Sahara.
In October, the United Nations Security Council urged the involved parties to “reinitiate discussions” aimed at achieving a “sustainable and mutually agreeable resolution” to the Western Sahara conflict. In November 2020, the Polisario Front announced the termination of a 29-year ceasefire with Morocco, following the deployment of Moroccan forces to the southern region of the territory to clear independence advocates obstructing the sole road to Mauritania. The Polisario Front contends that this route is unlawful, asserting that it was not in existence when the ceasefire was established in 1991.
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