Diplomatic crisis: Algeria recalls its ambassador to France

Algeria announced on Tuesday the immediate recall of its ambassador to France, in protest against Paris’ recognition of the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara.

The Algerian government decided on Tuesday to recall its ambassador to France ” with immediate effect “ in response to Paris’ recognition of Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara. The move comes after French President Emmanuel Macron said in a letter to Morocco’s King Mohammed VI that France considers that ” The present and future of Western Sahara are part of Moroccan sovereignty.

In his letter, Emmanuel Macron declared France’s support for the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco in 2007, considering it as “the only basis for reaching a just, lasting and negotiated political solution” for Western Sahara, in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. This position of the foreign policy of France did not meet with the approval of Algiers, which was quick to step up to the plate.

Indeed, in a press release, the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs severely criticized this recognition, describing it as “flouting international legality” and to ignore “the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination”The statement also accused France of supporting the “colonial fact imposed on Western Sahara” and to deviate from United Nations efforts for the decolonization of the region.

The conflict in Western Sahara has pitted Morocco against the Polisario Front since 1975, after the end of the Spanish occupation. The conflict, which degenerated into an armed confrontation until 1991, was partially resolved by a ceasefire agreement, but the issue of sovereignty over the region remains unresolved. Morocco proposes extensive autonomy under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria, calls for a referendum to determine the fate of the region, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 690.