Following French Ambassador Christophe Lecourtier's visits to Laayoune and Dakhla, an association aligned with the Polisario has issued a warning to French companies considering investments in the region. In a press release, Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) accuses French President Emmanuel Macron of «dragging his own companies into a legal quagmire» and turning them «into cannon fodder in a territory where international law is being violated». This striking rhetoric from the NGO echoes the threats previously made by Polisario leaders against Western companies operating in Western Sahara. The NGO further emphasizes that «French companies have a responsibility to assess the legal and human consequences of their operations, regardless of what their national government may declare». WSRW concludes by calling on the French judicial system to comply with the European Court of Justice (CJEU) rulings of October 4, which declared the investments of French companies in the Sahara to be illegal. This press release comes on the heels of the Polisario's criticism of the French ambassador's visits to Laayoune and Dakhla. France's economic involvement in the Sahara remains ahead of other Western nations. The French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Morocco (CFCIM) has established regional delegations in all three Saharan regions: Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra, Dakhla-Oued Eddahab, and Guelmim-Oued Noun, inaugurated in 2017, 2019, and February 2024, respectively.
