Sahara News by Lemine Ould Sidi
French deputy Alain David called on his country to join the current dynamics over the Sahara issue and to open a diplomatic representation in this southern region of Morocco.
“France must follow the countries that have already committed themselves with a diplomatic representation. It is necessary that France, which is a great country friend of Morocco, is present and can have a strong representation in this part,” said the Deputy for the 4th constituency of the Gironde (South-Western France). “Morocco has a legitimate claim to this territory, for several historical and legal reasons,” underlined the French deputy who took part in a virtual conference on “the issue of the Moroccan Sahara,” co-organized by the association of Moroccan students of Bordeaux (EMB) and Morocco’s Consulate General in the same city.
According to the member of the French National Assembly, “Morocco is the gateway to Europe but also to Africa. I think that Morocco is the most likely to protect us from any intrusion or development of terrorism in this part of Africa.”
This conference, which focused on two main themes: “Issues and prospects of the American recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over its southern territories” and “The role of France and the European Union in the resolution of the Moroccan Sahara conflict”, was also an opportunity to exchange with Hubert Seillan, lawyer at the bar of Paris and president of the France Morocco Peace and Development Foundation. France has a vested interest in having a diplomatic representation in Laayoune or Dakhla.
“Morocco is a country to which we must pay considerable attention because, through the Sahara, it brings us (Europeans) an exceptional security,” he observed.
