France’s support for Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara is unquestionable, insists Senate Speaker
France’s support for Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara is “unquestionable”, Speaker of the French Senate Gérard Larcher said on Monday in Rabat, welcoming the Autonomy Plan proposed by Morocco as a “prospect for building the present and future of this region of the Kingdom.”
Following talks with Chairman of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS) Khalihenna Ould Errachid, Larcher reiterated the importance of France’s position on this issue and recalled that “France is undoubtedly the country that knows this region best”, a knowledge that lends it a special responsibility and legitimacy to explain this situation on the international stage.
“I want to reaffirm that this is not the position of a government or an Executive (…) it is indeed France’s policy,” he insisted.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to assess the situation in the Kingdom’s Southern provinces, and to examine the prospects offered by the Autonomy Plan, Larcher stated.
Before Flying to the Moroccan Saharan city of Laayoune Monday evening, the Speaker of the French Senate also conferred with the heads of the executive and legislative branches in Rabat, as well as with the Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
During these separate talks, Gérard Larcher expressed his satisfaction at French-Moroccan relations, based on “the heritage of history and a deep friendship,” and seized the opportunity to hail again France’s support of the Moroccan Sahara, a position reiterated during the State visit President Emmanuel Macron paid to the Kingdom in October 2024, at the invitation of King Mohammed VI.
The two leaders’ meeting laid the foundations for upgrading the partnership between the two countries to the level of a “reinforced exceptional partnership.”
The Speaker of the French Senate, Known for being a great friend of Morocco, outlined during his meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister, Nasser Bourita, that the two countries are writing a new chapter of the book started since Macron’s visit to Rabat. “Today, thanks to the will of our two heads of state, we have found a path in which the Senate has played an important role,” he added.
He also emphasized that, through “parliamentary diplomacy, our friendship groups, our Foreign Affairs committee, as well as the Defense and Armed Forces committees, channels have always been maintained, and new networks have been created, particularly towards the southern Atlantic coast, which has long been a subject of exchanges between us, and is crucial for the stability of the African continent, but also for global stability in the context of new economic routes sometimes imposed by the instability in other parts of the world.”
Gérard Larcher also called for a partnership between Morocco and France in the Middle East and Africa.
Regarding his trip to the city of Laâyoune, he said: “We will concretely see the presence of French educational institutions and the creation of the Alliance Française, as the cultural dimension is crucial, especially at a time when the Moroccan government is engaged in an education reform. He insisted that the evolution in French-Moroccan relations is not the policy of a government or a moment, but the policy of the French Republic.
After he arrived in Laayoune on Monday evening, the Speaker of the French Senate held a meeting with Morocco’s Upper House Speaker Mohamed Ould Errachid, the Wali of the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region and Governor of Laayoune province, Abdeslam Bekrate, and the governors of the provinces of the region.
He outlined during the meeting tha the new perspective France has on the Sahara issue, along with the evolution of its position is “evident, a fundamental truth.” “This truth has undergone a long process of maturation.”
In this regard, he recalled that the Senate had worked early on to initiate a diplomatic effort ensuring that France, which has always supported Morocco in its fundamental challenges, would take into account the developments since 2007 and put aside any ambiguity.
The French Senate Speaker highlighted that France’s firm stance on the Moroccan Sahara issue and its support for the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty as the one and only framework for a settlement of the issue is firmly established and represents the stance of French institutions in their diversity. ” This support is not the result of a government policy but is now the policy of the French Republic.”
Furthermore, Larcher emphasized that he, along with the members of his accompanying delegation, were deeply impressed by the remarkable growth of the Laayoune region, particularly in infrastructure, social facilities, and the ongoing pursuit of sustainable development.
He noted that the southern provinces serve as a model of success for the entire Sahel-Saharan region, which is facing tensions.
“This model aligns with Morocco’s geostrategic vision, and represents an opportunity to open up and develop the States surrounding the Kingdom,” Larcher added.
Later in the evening, Larcher was guest to a dinner banquet hosted in his honor by Speaker of the Moroccan upper House, Mohamed Ouled Errachid, a native of the Sahara.
The working visit by the French Senate Speaker to the Kingdom will help bolster cooperation between legislative institutions in the two countries, and consolidate the ties of friendship and cooperation between Morocco and France.
The Speaker of the French Senate is accompanied by a high-level delegation including Chairman of the Morocco-France Friendship Group Christian Cambon, President of the Senate’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces Cédric Perrin, and French Ambassador to Rabat Christophe Lecourtier.
