A separatist association criticizes the visit of a French delegation to Dakhla

The Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara (CODESA), which supports the separatist position, has expressed its «deep concern» and «condemnation» over the visit of an official delegation from the French city of Nice to Dakhla.

On January 17, Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi and El Ragheb Harma Allah, President of the Dakhla local authority, signed a memorandum of understanding in the presence of the French President’s special envoy to the United Nations Ocean Conference and France’s ambassador for the poles and oceans, Olivier Poivre d’Arvor. The agreement aims to establish a twinning between Nice and Dakhla and to create a permanent institutional framework for bilateral cooperation across several sectors.

Echoing the rhetoric of the Polisario Front, the separatist group accused France of seeking to «legitimize» what it described as the «Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara».

CODESA further alleged that France was bypassing «the principles of international law» and attempting to «normalize the occupation through development and investment», while «depriving the Sahrawi people of their right to self-determination».

It is worth recalling that France formally recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara on July 30, 2024. In a message addressed to King Mohammed VI, President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that France supports Morocco’s autonomy proposal for the Sahara within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty, stating that it constitutes the sole basis for achieving a fair, lasting, and negotiated political solution, in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions.