French Culture Minister Rachida Dati arrived in Western Sahara on Monday, marking a significant diplomatic gesture of support for Morocco’s claim over the disputed territory.
During her visit, Dati is set to meet with local officials and inaugurate a French cultural center, reinforcing France’s backing of Moroccan sovereignty.
The decades-old conflict over Western Sahara dates back to 1975, with Morocco asserting control over the region while facing opposition from the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks independence.
“This visit is both a symbolic and political statement,” Dati told Moroccan reporters. France, in July, became the second permanent member of the U.N. Security Council—after the United States—to endorse Morocco’s stance on the region.
French President Emmanuel Macron reinforced this position during his visit to Rabat in October, where he addressed the Moroccan parliament, affirming that Western Sahara is Moroccan territory. Additionally, France's foreign minister pledged to extend France’s consular services to the region.
Macron’s visit also saw the signing of economic agreements worth over $10 billion. Following these deals, Morocco played a key role in securing the release of four French spies detained in Burkina Faso.
France’s support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara has strained relations with Algeria, which remains a staunch backer of the Polisario Front.
Morocco has also garnered recognition for its claim from Spain—the former colonial power in Western Sahara—along with Israel and more than two dozen African and Arab nations.
In 2020, the Polisario Front withdrew from a U.N.-brokered ceasefire, but despite the formal breakdown of truce, the conflict remains relatively low in intensity. Photo by Radosław Botev, Wikimedia commons.