France updates official map of Morocco to include the Sahara

The decision had been anticipated since July 30, and now it’s official. On October 29, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a full map of Morocco, including the Sahara, on its website—an official gesture marking France’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara.

President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed this position in his address to the Moroccan Parliament on Tuesday. Echoing his July 30 letter to King Mohammed VI, he reiterated that «for France, the present and future of this territory lie within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty (...) the 2007 autonomy plan constitutes the only basis for achieving a just, lasting, and negotiated political solution in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council».

At a joint press briefing with his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita welcomed Paris’s publication of Morocco’s map, including the Sahara.