French MPs urge Macron to make a stand on Sahara issue

A group of 94 members of the French parliament sent a letter to President Macron urging him to make a stand in support of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara territory as part of effort to restore an African-French foreign policy in demise.

The letter, published on Le Figaro inter alia, noted the erosion of French influence in Africa due to inconsistencies in Macron’s foreign policy in a continent where Russians, Chinese and Americans have outperformed the French.

After recalling the fiasco of France in a number of its former colonies where the army overthrew democratically elected presidents, the MPs recalled the lack of action by President Macron and his ill-fated bet on Algeria, where the army’s doctrine is based on anti-French sentiment.

“In Morocco, French procrastination on the Sahara (at a time Spain and Germany recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara) and the balance seeking policy by the Quai D’Orsay with Algeria, have pushed the Royal Palace to seek defense and economic partners elsewhere,” noted the letter.

“We do not understand the development of French policy in Africa whether at the military level or at the development and cultural and linguistic levels,” said the letter.

Niger, on which Paris depends for uranium supplies, was the latest Sahel state to turn its back to France after a military coup, following the example of neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso.