“The Western Sahara conflict imposes itself on us” — this is the title of an opinion piece recently published in Le Monde by a collective of academics, including historians, sociologists and journalists.

The article’s approach is new and unprecedented, advocating for the first time for an “international conference” to be held in Paris, under international supervision, and which should be aimed at convincing Morocco and Algeria to lay to bed their divergences and renounce the notion of a zero-sum confrontation. While original, the idea is unfeasible because this Paris conference would be, 120 years later, a remake of the Algeciras Conference that resulted in the dismemberment of Morocco.

At first sight, what is interesting in this article are two elements clearly stated for the first time: that France bears historical responsibility in this conflict, and that Morocco and Algeria are the two real opponents in this territorial dispute.

This disqualifies the notion of a Saharawi people, or the idea of “a problem of decolonization,” even if the term is used once in the text. But the authors advocate for an Arab, African and European settlement, effectively excluding the United Nations, which has been leading mediation efforts in this dispute for half a century.

But the problem is that the EU is already too involved, the Arab League is not really concerned, and the AU is not particularly reliable on this Sahara question. Morocco, the main concerned party, has long relied on the UN — many resolutions have been passed, and so any diplomatic settlement of the dispute must not, cannot, go outside of this UN framework.

The article’s second interesting idea is that Europeans are beginning to realize that the question of the Sahara “imposes itself” on Europe, and that the Old Continent, faced with numerous problems, would do better to actively work toward finding a solution to this conflict which concerns it — both for Algerian energy and for stability and, if possible, prosperity on its southern flank. Such a European awareness is necessary, given Europe’s geographical proximity to the territory in question and the French influence on the Algerian military and regime.

Faced with the proposal of this collective of academics and journalists, other remarks must be made in response:

Transcending the winner/loser logic

Algeria wants to impose itself on Morocco and impose a solution on it, and if this conference is held, it will be with the aim of finding a consensual solution. However, like Catalonia for Spain, the Falkland Islands for the United Kingdom, Corsica for France, or Tibet for China, the Sahara is neither negotiable for Morocco nor should it be subject to any consensus.

And it is not because it is less powerful than the countries mentioned above that Morocco should be treated differently, in which case we would return to the winner/loser logic that the authors say they want to go beyond.

Democratization of Algeria

What the region really needs is for the Algerian military to leave and give way to civilian power. It’s as simple as that. They keep a tight grip on the country, repressing any desire for action and muzzling any desire for reflection. They have maintained and perfected their long-running politics of victimhood towards France, which Emmanuel Macron denounced in a rare moment of sincerity and lucidity.

A distinctive marker of Algerian leaders’ policies and worldview is their inherent, deep-seated hatred of Morocco, a neighbor that continues to reach out to them to extend an olive branch with one hand, while keeping a weapon in the other hand, because you never know. Algeria, and with it the Maghreb, missed the Boudiaf phase and then the Hirak interlude; we will have to wait for a third opportunity to see perhaps the establishment of a civil state in Algeria, as the Algerians themselves have long demanded.

Western Sahara is Moroccan

In Morocco, the Western Sahara issue is not a question of political power or the “survival of the monarchy,” as it is often claimed in Europe. The territorial integrity of the kingdom is the business, concern of all Moroccans; the issue is non-negotiable. For the Algerian leadership, the Sahara question remains above all a matter of foreign policy to deflect the Algerian people’s attention from the failings of domestic policy.

The makers of international law and the scholars of global geopolitics know this perfectly well and it is for this reason that they do not rush the kingdom. Morocco will be with its Sahara or will not be; and if it is not, Europe will collapse because of the ensuing instability.

The impossible Paris Conference

A conference in Paris, which would be called “The Paris Conference,” is impossible, because France cannot be the solution to the Sahara dispute since it is the problem. Because France colonized Morocco, and made sure to prevent it from completing its decolonization, it is responsible for the current tension over Western Sahara.

The article’s idea is therefore original, but it is illegal in terms of international law embodied by the United Nations Security Council and materialized by the dozens of resolutions from this very council. Moreover, it is impracticable because it does not take into account the full history of Morocco and the sensitivity of Moroccans when it comes to the Sahara question.

The idea, finally and above all, is insidious as it is dangerous because it goes implicitly in the direction of Algiers which wants a consensus, therefore concessions from Morocco, and France who, with its diplomacy being totally at a loss for momentum and influence, would be seeking to use a large “international conference” on its soil as an opportunity to get back in the saddle by presenting itself as a peace broker.

Meanwhile, the authors of the collective article published by the former “reference newspaper” Le Monde, among whom there are many who support the Algerian thesis (which is their right), appear to espouse a kind of donkey bridge reasoning which ignores, or chooses to ignore, so much of the post-colonial reality at hand and the Algerian political context.

If there ever should be an “international conference” on the Western Sahara question, the goal should be to offer a platform for a rereading of the criteria and objectives of French decolonization on the African continent. The point would not be to demand apologies or repentance from France, but rather to tell the whole, unvarnished truth about the colonial period and the modes of decolonization France used. And such a much-needed conference could — should — be held in Rabat.