ALGIERS: Algeria announced Tuesday it was withdrawing its ambassador to Paris after France said autonomy within Morocco was the “only” solution to the decades-long Western Saharan dispute.

In a letter Tuesday to Morocco’s King Mohammed VI congratulating him on his 25th coronation anniversary, French President Emmanuel Macron said Rabat’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara was “the only basis that will lead to a just, lasting and negotiated political solution”.

It drew an angry reaction from the pro-independence Polisario Front and the group’s main backer Algeria. “The Algerian diplomatic representation in France is now the responsibility of a charge d’affaires,” the Algerian foreign ministry was quoted as saying by Algeria’s APS news agency. The ministry denounced a “step that no other French government had taken before.”

Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Polisario Front, which in 2020 declared a “self-defense war” and seeks the territory’s independence. It is considered by the United Nations, which has had a peacekeeping mission there since 1991, as a “non-self-governing territory”. The UN’s stated aim is to organize a referendum on the territory’s future, but Morocco has repeatedly rejected any vote in which independence is an option.

In his letter, Macron wrote: “The pursuit of the economic and social development of this region is imperative.” “I welcome all the efforts made by Morocco in this regard. France will support it in this approach for the benefit of local populations,” he added.

The Moroccan royal court hailed Macron’s comments in his letter as “a significant step in support of Moroccan sovereignty” over the Western Sahara. The Polisario retorted that the French leader was supporting the territory’s “violent and illegal occupation” by Morocco.

‘Historic change’

Macron’s announcement did little to appease tensions between Paris and Algiers that appeared to be thawing in recent months. An official visit to France by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune — pushed back twice already — was scheduled to take place this fall. But reports in Algerian media following Macron’s statement have said it is unlikely to take place.

Algeria was a French colony for 130 years and gained its independence in 1962 after a devastating eight-year war. The two countries have had a few diplomatic spats in recent years. In February 2023, Algeria had also withdrawn its ambassador from France, accusing it of helping activist Amira Bouraoui flee the North African country.

Algerian-French ties fell into crisis in late 2021 after Macron questioned Algeria’s existence as a nation before the French occupation, and accused the government of fomenting “hatred towards France”. The two countries mended ties after a visit in August 2023 to Algeria by Macron, who signed with Tebboune a joint declaration to relaunch bilateral cooperation.

The Algerian foreign ministry said Tuesday that France was “flouting international legality, taking up the cause of the denial of the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination”. Hasni Abidi, a North Africa expert at Center for Studies and Research on the Arab and Mediterranean World, said Macron’s statement relayed “a historic change” in the French position on the issue.

He said the decision came after pressure by the French right which believes that “Paris will never win Algiers and risks losing its major ally Rabat”. In February, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne had already said during a trip to Morocco that the kingdom could count on France’s “clear and constant support”.

On Tuesday, Algeria referred to France and Morocco as “colonial powers” and warned of “consequences that will follow France’s decision”. Algeria broke off diplomatic ties with Morocco in August 2021. In 2020, then US president Donald Trump recognized Morocco’s annexation of the Western Sahara in return for Rabat normalizing ties with the Zionist entity. — AFP