The French ambassador to Morocco carrying the daraathe loose traditional clothing of the men of Western Sahara, while being received in El Aaiún by the mayor of the main city of the region. Immortalized on Tuesday, November 12 in the councilor’s office, the scene alone summarizes the implementation of France’s recent change of position in Western Sahara, registered on July 30 by President Emmanuel Macron.
In a letter addressed to the King of Morocco, the Head of State then recognized the sovereignty of the kingdom of Shereef over this desert territory populated by some 600,000 inhabitants, the subject of a dispute that has lasted half a century between Rabat and the separatists of the Polisario Front. , supported by Algeria.
Inconceivable in the face of this official letter, the image of a French ambassador in Western Sahara has symbolic value. The movements of French diplomats in the area were not prohibited, but were reserved for specific functions, in particular that of political advisor in the embassy, a position mainly involved in discussions about the United Nations mission to organize a referendum in Western Sahara (Minurso). These visits were carried out, in most cases, discreetly.
No French consulate at the moment
Nothing comparable to the communication that surrounded the trip of ambassador Christophe Lecourtier, appointed two years ago by Emmanuel Macron, who is known to be close. Spread over three days, from Monday, November 11 to Wednesday, November 13, his diplomatic tour was communicated to the press through a statement, analyzed and widely commented on by Moroccan newspapers.
It must be said that the first official stay of a French ambassador in Western Sahara was expected. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, made the announcement on October 29, during the State visit of the President of the Republic to Morocco, but without specifying dates. The head of the Quai d’Orsay, however, had outlined the general lines of the trip, ensuring that “France intends to increase its consular and cultural presence in the Moroccan Sahara”. According to our information, an office of the Alliance Française will soon open in El Aaiún, whose subsidiaries intend to complement the system of French institutes, while the association responsible for their management is formed.
Another confirmed project, which had already been revealed by Emmanuel Macron during his visit to Morocco at the end of October, the 484 students of the two schools in El Aaiún and Dakhla, opened more than ten years ago by the French Secular Mission, should visit the site the next patent and baccalaureate exams, “avoid traveling to Agadir [à 640 km au nord de Laâyoune et à 1 100 km de Dakhla]as was the case before »informs the recognized public utility association.
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