The Moroccan royal cabinet announced on Tuesday the support of France to the plan for autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty for the Occidental Sahara submitted by Morocco to the UN, stating that it is the “only base” to resolve the conflict over the former Spanish colony.

In a statement, the royal cabinet reports that this support is officially expressed in a letter sent by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to King Mohammed VI on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his enthronement, which falls on Tuesday, in which France considers that “the present and future of Western Sahara are within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty.”

In the letter, Macron highlights “the intangibility of the French position on this issue of national security” of Morocco and that his country “intends to act consistently with this position at the national and international level.”

France’s change of position comes two years after Spain, the former colonial power in Western Sahara, made a similar move in its foreign policy, stating that The Moroccan autonomy plan is “the most serious, realistic and credible basis” to resolve the dispute.

The announcement also comes after a Silent crisis between Rabat and Paris The dispute lasted several months and began to be resolved last February and was due to a number of different factors. Among these causes was the rapprochement between Paris and Algiers – Rabat’s regional rival, which announced French support for the autonomy plan last Thursday – and Morocco’s desire for France to position itself more clearly in favour of the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara.

Last February, the French Foreign Minister, Stéphane Séjournétraveled to Rabat where he met with his Moroccan counterpart, Naser Burita, in a visit that marked the opening of “a new chapter” in relations between the two countries.

The minister promised that France would participate in the development of the former Spanish colony, 80% de facto controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Sahrawis of the Polisario FrontIn December 2020, then-US President Donald Trump recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the territory of Western Sahara in exchange for Morocco normalising its diplomatic relations with Israel, which also recognises the Moroccan status of the former Spanish colony.