France is seeking to reaffirm its commitment to the Western Sahara region by supporting development projects, encouraging investment, and deepening economic and institutional cooperation within the framework of the “strategic partnership” between Paris and Rabat. This approach also reflects the Élysée Palace’s keenness to translate its recognition of “Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara” and its support for the “autonomy” plan in the region.
These trends were expressed during the visit of the newly appointed French Ambassador to Morocco, Philippe Lalliot, to the city of Laayoune on Wednesday, where he oversaw the opening of a branch of the “French League,” in a move aimed at strengthening the French cultural and educational presence in the southern provinces, in addition to inspecting projects benefiting from the funding of the “French Development Agency.”
Laayoune is the first official field destination for Ambassador Lalliot outside Rabat since he took up his duties, which gave this step political significance, as observers considered it an embodiment of Paris’ commitment to the southern provinces of Morocco since it announced in 2024 its support for the autonomy plan for the Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty.
The new ambassador continues the same approach started by his predecessor Christophe Lecourtier, which at the time - in mid-April - caused anger among the Polisario Front, as it issued a statement criticizing Lecourtier’s visit to the Sahara region, and considered it “a new chapter of aggression against the Sahrawi people, and an attempt to undermine the efforts of the international community to find a just and fair solution to the Western Sahara issue,” according to the statement.
In the absence of any similar position from the Polisario Front, until midday on Thursday, Philippe Lalliot held separate meetings with local officials, where he stated that his country intends to continue its engagement in the region by supporting development projects there.
Media sources quoted Philippe Lalliot as saying that his visit was part of efforts to implement commitments resulting from strengthening the partnership between Rabat and Paris, including preparing for upcoming bilateral meetings, activating a new framework agreement, and anticipating the visit of Moroccan King Mohammed VI to Paris in order to give a new impetus to relations between the two countries.
Lalliot noted that France views the southern Moroccan provinces as a strategic area for investment and production, adding that French companies are being encouraged to participate in major infrastructure projects, renewable energy, the blue economy, education and vocational training.
He said: “The next decade will be crucial in establishing the southern regions as an economic hub linking Europe and Africa.”
During his meeting with the French ambassador, the governor of Laayoune, Abdeslam Bekrate, spoke of what he described as a new chapter in bilateral relations following the official visit of President Emmanuel Macron to Morocco in October 2024. Bekrate said that the agreements reached provide a new framework for diplomatic cooperation.
For his part, the mayor of Laayoune, Moulay Hamdi Ould Errachid, considered Ambassador Lalliot's visit a reflection of the positive momentum in Moroccan-French relations. He praised Paris's support for Morocco's proposal to grant autonomy to the Sahara region. He also discussed development projects implemented in the southern provinces and presented investment opportunities related to the region's infrastructure and its strategic location as a gateway to sub-Saharan Africa.
He affirmed that Rabat's initiative to grant autonomy to the Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty remains the only viable solution to the conflict. In response to questions about the population of the Tindouf camps, Ould Errachid asserted that the Polisario Front does not represent the majority of Sahrawis, and that Morocco has developed the necessary institutional and humanitarian capacities to facilitate reintegration while maintaining stability and protecting rights.
He also explained that the mission of the United Nations Mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO) is limited to monitoring the ceasefire, accusing the Polisario Front of violating the agreement in 2020 during the “Guerguerat” border crossing crisis.
The mayor of Laayoune pointed out that the growing international support for the Moroccan autonomy proposal shows, in his opinion, the failure of alternative approaches to reach a solution to the decades-long conflict.
On October 31, 2025, the Security Council adopted, by a majority vote, Resolution 2797, which considers that autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty could constitute the most viable solution, and called for negotiations based on the Moroccan autonomy proposal submitted in 2007.
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