Algerian press slams French investment in the Sahara

The Algerian private press is fiercely critical of recent French public investment projects in the Sahara. Several media outlets condemned what they called «provocative, dangerous and unprecedented statements» made by the French Minister of Foreign Trade, Frank Riester, during his visit to Morocco.

The daily Echoroukonline denounced «a new French bombshell on the road of relations with Algeria».

«The participation of the French Treasury in financing projects for Moroccan development in the Western Sahara» is seen as an initiative that will «harm bilateral relations».

El Khabar described Riester's announcements as a «flawed approach, which takes no account of the facts on the ground and has no legal basis». It added that this constituted a «coup d'état, blackmail and a breach of pacts».

«While France had previously refrained from participating financially in Moroccan projects on disputed lands, with these recent declarations, a taboo has been lifted, paving the way for unconditional support for Morocco's claims over Western Sahara», Le Soir d'Algérie argued. «France betrays Tebboune to please Morocco», said DN Algérie, referring to the planned visit of the Algerian President to Paris.

Anticipating this criticism, a French diplomatic source told Le Monde that Riester's announcement «does not modify France's position on the Western Sahara issue».

The Algerian government has not yet commented on the French minister's statements. The Polisario Front, however, denounced Riester's remarks in a press release published on Saturday.