Citing an Elysée source, the Geopolitical Institute Horizons (IGH) reveals that France will open the first European diplomatic representation, along with a French Institute, in Laâyoune, located in the heart of the Moroccan Sahara.
The Geopolitical Institute Horizons announced on its website, horizons.ma, that France will take a historic step by opening a consulate general and a French Institute in Laâyoune, three months after recognizing Morocco's sovereignty over its Sahara through a letter sent by President Macron to HM King Mohammed VI.
The Institute, which presents itself as an independent expert center dedicated to geopolitical analysis of the Maghreb, Sahel, and Atlantic Africa regions, claims to have obtained this information from an Elysée source.
"The announcement could be made during the French president’s address to the Moroccan Parliament on October 29," the same source specifies, even revealing the location of the future French consulate and the date of its inauguration.
This diplomatic representation, the first of its kind from Europe, "will be located in the administrative district, in a villa on Boulevard Essalam (Peace Boulevard)." Its opening, along with that of the future French Institute in Laâyoune, is scheduled for "November 6, a symbolic date marking the celebration of the Green March."
"The consulate general will be the first diplomatic representation of a European country in the region, with jurisdiction over the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra and Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab regions," IGH adds.
"It’s a comprehensive initiative that concretely marks France's new position on the Sahara," the Institute reports, citing its Elysée source.
Agnès Humruzian had already revealed to L'Observateur du Maroc in early October, during the presentation of the 2024-2025 cultural program, that the French Institute of Morocco, of which she is the director-general, "aims to expand further into the Moroccan Sahara." This statement aligns with the information provided by IGH.
