Algeria to sanction France over shift to pro-Morocco position on Western Sahara

Algeria is currently mulling new ways to punish France over its new pro-Moroccan position regarding the disputed region of Western Sahara, with economic sanctions among Algiers' strongest options.

"We will take the necessary measures to express our rejection of such [France's] position," said Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf on 31 July in a press conference.

A day prior Attaf's press conference, France backed Morocco's autonomy plan for the disputed territory, stressing that “the present and future of Western Sahara fall within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty.”

In response, Algeria immediately recalled its ambassador to Paris as a "first step that will be followed by others," warned Attaf.

Why is Algeria Furious About France's Position Shift?

For over four decades, the Western Sahara dispute has been a major source of tension between Rabat, Algiers, and their allies. Morocco considers its sovereignty over Western Sahara is a non-negotiable national cause.

While Algeria has no claims over the territory, it is a staunch supporter of the pro-independence Polisario Front, which claims sovereignty over the territory. Algeria hosts the Front's self-proclaimed government and opposes any solution that does not include independence.

The UN does not recognise the sovereignty claims of either Morocco or the Polisario Front. Morocco took control of most of Western Sahara in 1975 after an agreement with Spain and Mauritania, leading to a guerrilla war with the Polisario Front, which asserts that the desert region in northwest Africa belongs to it.

In 2007, Morocco presented its autonomy plan for the territory, which is supposed to allow the Sahrawi people to run their affairs "democratically, through legislative, executive, and judicial bodies, while Morocco retains control over defence and foreign relations."

The UN supported Rabat's proposal, but Algeria and the Polisario Front rejected it.

Since then, numerous UN-sponsored talks have failed to make a breakthrough, with each side further entrenching its position. Algiers halted diplomatic ties with Rabat in 2021 following the US recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara in exchange for Rabat's normalisation with Israel.

How Can Algeria Sanction France?

In June 2022, Algeria suspended a 20-year friendship treaty with Spain and imposed an economic blockade on the country when Madrid took a pro-Morocco position on the disputed territory.

The Spanish economy lost US$1 billion in the following seven months alone as exports to Algeria crashed. However, Algeria continued supplying gas to Spain under an agreement.

In France, some political parties have warned of the similar consequences on Paris’s ties with its second-largest trade partner in Africa, Algeria.

"The PS expresses its concern about the consequences and calls for diplomacy based on appeasement and dialogue," wrote the French Socialist Party in a press release on 31 July. Other left-wing parties have also deemed France's new position an "individual position" by President Emmanuel Macron that will cost Paris dearly.

Meanwhile, Morocco's King Mohammed VI has invited the French president for an official visit to Rabat for the first time in six years, to celebrate their renewed friendship.