French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's statements in Rabat have generated considerable attention after he declared that France's position on Western Sahara is now "unchangeable" and that Paris stands alongside Morocco "loyally and faithfully."
Yet despite their political significance, these remarks do not represent a fundamental shift in French policy.
France did not choose its side today. It chose its side nearly half a century ago.
Western Sahara: A Decolonization Issue, Not a Regional Dispute
Contrary to the narrative often promoted in many Western media outlets, the Western Sahara question is not merely a regional dispute between Algeria and Morocco.
From the perspective of the United Nations, the territory remains on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories and continues to be considered an unfinished decolonization issue.
Therefore, the core of the matter is not military balance or facts established on the ground, but rather the right of the Sahrawi people to determine their own political future in accordance with international law.
It is for this reason that Algeria rejects Morocco's policy of fait accompli in Western Sahara. In Algeria's view, the passage of time cannot transform an occupation into a legitimate legal situation, and international legitimacy cannot be acquired simply through prolonged control.
An Issue Directly Linked to Algerian National Security
The Algerian position is based not only on legal considerations but also on strategic and security concerns.
Algeria has long viewed with suspicion historical doctrines associated with the concept of a "Greater Morocco," which emerged after independence and included territorial claims extending beyond Morocco's present borders into areas that are now part of Algeria and Mauritania.
Although Morocco today officially claims no Algerian territory, the historical memory of these doctrines remains deeply rooted in Algerian strategic thinking.
From this perspective, international recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara is viewed in Algeria as a dangerous precedent that could legitimize territorial expansion through the gradual acceptance of faits accomplis.
As a result, French support for Morocco's position is not perceived in Algeria as merely a diplomatic preference. It is seen as a development that directly affects the strategic balance and regional security of the Maghreb.
France Has Always Been Morocco's Primary Western Backer
This is a reality often overlooked in contemporary discussions.
France did not begin supporting Morocco in 2024 or 2026. It has been one of Rabat's principal supporters since the beginning of the conflict.
In the late 1970s, during the war involving the Polisario Front, Morocco, and Mauritania, France intervened militarily through Operation Lamantin.
During that operation, French Air Force Jaguar fighter aircraft carried out strikes against Polisario units operating in Mauritania.
For many Sahrawis and Algerians, these events constitute clear evidence that France has never been a neutral actor in the conflict. On the contrary, it has long been a key political, military, and strategic supporter of Morocco.
French support was not limited to military involvement. Over the following decades, Paris consistently provided diplomatic backing for Rabat within the United Nations Security Council and other international forums, frequently acting as Morocco's most influential Western advocate.
Lecornu Has Not Changed French Policy
This is why Lecornu's remarks should be viewed from a broader historical perspective.
What has changed today is not French policy itself, but the way France speaks about it.
For decades, Paris attempted to maintain a degree of diplomatic ambiguity that allowed it to preserve relations with Algeria while simultaneously supporting Morocco on the Western Sahara issue.
Today, France appears to have abandoned that ambiguity.
When the French Prime Minister declares that France stands alongside Morocco "loyally and faithfully," he is not announcing a new policy. He is openly acknowledging a policy that has existed for decades.
A Credibility Problem in Relations with Algeria
Algeria has not officially responded to Lecornu's statements.
However, the issue for many Algerians is not the discovery of France's support for Morocco; that support has long been understood.
The real issue lies in the contradiction between this openly declared support and France's repeated claims that it wishes to build a new relationship of trust with Algeria.
How can Paris speak of a balanced partnership with Algeria while simultaneously affirming that its position on what Algeria considers one of its most important strategic issues is definitive and non-negotiable?
For many observers, the statements made in Rabat confirm that France no longer seeks to maintain the image of an equidistant actor between Algeria and Morocco. Instead, it openly presents Morocco as its preferred strategic partner in the region.
Conclusion
Sébastien Lecornu's remarks do not represent a historic transformation of French policy toward Western Sahara. Rather, they mark the end of a period of diplomatic ambiguity.
France has not changed its position; it has simply chosen to express it more openly.
Since the 1970s, Paris has been Morocco's foremost international supporter on military, political, and diplomatic levels. The novelty today is that France no longer feels compelled to conceal this alignment behind the language of neutrality or balance.
In other words, Lecornu did not choose France's side in 2026. He merely announced to the world the side that France had chosen decades ago.
✍️ Belgacem Merbah
Algerian patriot, free in his writing as in his convictions.
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