During a recent episode of the “Points de Vue” program on Le Figaro TV, Xavier Driencourt, former French ambassador to Algeria, said that France is planning to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara regardless of any imminent repercussions from other countries.
Driencourt, who served as France’s ambassador to Algeria from 2008 to 2012 and then from 2017 to 2020, discussed the thaw in relations between Morocco and France. He mentioned that the recent visits by French top officials to Morocco, including Stéphane Séjourné, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior, and Bruno le Maire, the Economy Minister, may result in France admitting the “Moroccan identity” of the Sahara region. However, such a move could further strain the already fragile relationship between Paris and Algiers.
The diplomat suggested that President Emmanuel Macron should conduct a “state visit” to Morocco, as his latest was only a business trip in 2017.
Recognizing the Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara is part of the “future” of diplomatic relations between Rabat and Paris, in his own words.
When asked about the reason behind the diplomatic shift towards Morocco, the former diplomat stated that France’s interests in Morocco, economically speaking, outweigh by far its interests in Algeria.
“Algerians have chosen China, Turkey, and Germany at the expense of France,” he asserted, adding that reconciliation with a leading partner in Africa (Morocco) is of paramount importance.”
Explaining the difference between Morocco and Algeria, and why the latter is holding grudges against France unlike the first, Driencourt said the two countries have different histories as “Morocco was a protectorate and always had a Sultan, Mohammed V, while Algeria was a French department. It was a colony back then, similar to Corrèze (in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France.)”
From the former ambassador’s viewpoint, it is challenging to manage simultaneous diplomatic relations with the two African countries as did former French President Jacques Chirac during the reign of late king Hassan II. “The current situation is much more complex.”