Companies have an independent responsibility to assess the legal and human rights consequences of their operations, irrespective of whatever their home government might state. 

This principle is fundamental for French companies to have in mind, taking into account the spectacular statements from French president Macron on Western Sahara. 

In an address to the Moroccan parliament on 29 October 2024, during a three-day state visit, French President Emmanuel Macron issued highly controversial statements, including that Western Sahara's "present and future" belong under "Moroccan sovereignty." To do so, Macron follows the example of US President Trump who was the first president to issue such a statement in 2020. 

Macron also pledged "investments and sustainable support initiatives to benefit local populations" and that French companies "will support the development" of Western Sahara. 

“I say it here too, with great force: our operators and our companies will support the development of these territories through investments, sustainable and supportive initiatives, for the benefit of local populations”, Macron declared. Find his full speech here [or download]. 

So the tricky part? No matter what the French government's political agenda is, and no matter what Macron states, Western Sahara is not part of Morocco. In other words, Macron's efforts to push French businesses into the occupied territory come with a serious risk to the companies that might take the bait. 

Macron's statement before the Moroccan parliament came just mere weeks after the highest Court of the European Union had for the tenth time concluded Western Sahara to be separate and distinct from Morocco, adding that Morocco has no sovereignty or administering mandate over the territory. In addition, the Court emphasised that the people of Western Sahara and the “local populations”, which Macron refers to, are not the same thing - it is the people of Western Sahara that hold the right to self-determination, not the current inhabitants of the territory, which - according to the EU's figures - are 75% Moroccans. Any economic arrangement affecting Western Sahara thus requires the consent of the people, not of the population, the Court finds. That consent can be express, or presumed - if very strict conditions are fulfilled. 

WSRW has summarised the key-findings of the EU Court of Justice's 4 October 2024 rulings on Western Sahara.

So the French government is now, with open eyes, seemingly trying their best to put French companies as cannon fodder into a territory where international humanitarian law is being violated. 

“It is irresponsible of the French President to make such statements that might sway French companies to do business in occupied Western Sahara, when he knows fully well that there is no solid legal framework for such operations. He is knowingly exposing French companies to a myriad of legal and reputational risks”, says Erik Hagen of Western Sahara Resource Watch. 

“As long as the French government is so openly declaring its distance to very basic principles of international law and human rights, it is clear that French companies can no longer rely on legal advise from its government. It undermines the credibility of the French government also in its assessments of law and order and corporate guidance elsewhere in the world. Dragging its own companies into a legal quagmire is highly irresponsible, not only vis-à-vis the Saharawi people, but also against the French companies”, stated Hagen. 

The story of the French government's political statements will soon enter a new chapter: 

One of the three cases that were concluded in Luxembourg on 4 October - the one of labelling of fisheries and agricultural products from Western Sahara - will soon return to French courts. Originally initiated by a French farmers' union before the French administrative court, and then forwarded to the ECJ, the ‘labelling case' has now bounced back to the French court, for final conclusion. The French court system will then, in practice, have no other way than reiterating that, based on the ruling of the ECJ, Western Sahara has a separate and distinct status from Morocco and coming to a conclusion that illustrates how Macron's political support for the occupation, and his financial packages, violate basic legal principles.

Macron's positioning went beyond rhetorics, however. The French President inked several agreements with the Moroccan monarch or other government officials, reportedly to the tune of €10 billion. A breakdown made by a Spanish newspaper shows that most of this giant investment package will be investments in Morocco proper, but that some will also cover Western Sahara. 

One of the signed deals focuses on a Strategic Partnership in the field of energy cooperation, connectivity and energy transition. 

Another signed deal relates to green hydrogen. One year ago, the Moroccan government presented the 2024 Finance Bill, in which it had allocated large areas of ‘public land’ for green hydrogen projects. An astounding 81% of that land is located in occupied Western Sahara. Earlier in 2023, a study by Moroccan universities had concluded that “the country's” greatest potential for green hydrogen was in El Aaiún and Dakhla - both in occupied Western Sahara. The first company to be linked to the projects planned under the Moroccan Finance Bill, was French company HDF Energy, envisaging an 8 GW production project underpinned by 17 GW of renewable power. To defend its position, HDF Energy uses a political line of argumentation that echoes the one of Macron.

Observers have noted that Macron's visit served to mend diplomatic ties with Morocco, after a few tense years over a range of issues, including migration, Morocco's alleged involvement in using Pegasus spyware against the French President, Macron's attempt for a rapprochement with Algeria, and what Morocco regarded as France's ambiguous stance on Western Sahara.

In relation to Macron's state visit to Morocco, a declaration was also published on the website of the French government. 

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