It is a historic debacle for the Algerian regime. After months of tensions and threats against France, Algiers shamefully surrenders, accepting—without securing the slightest concession—Paris’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara. A total humiliation for Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his junta, who are now burying decades of anti-Moroccan propaganda and sterile diplomatic agitation. The matter is settled: the Moroccan Sahara will no longer be a subject of discussion between Paris and Algiers. This outright capitulation seals the failure of Algerian diplomacy.
A Shameful U-Turn: Algeria Forced to Bow Down
On March 31, a joint statement from Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Abdelmadjid Tebboune made official what everyone already knew: Algeria has lost its diplomatic battle. After months of insults, blackmail, and ridiculous posturing, Algiers has finally laid down its arms unconditionally. Not a single mention of the Sahara in the agreement—despite the fact that this very issue triggered the most serious diplomatic crisis between the two countries. France has imposed its agenda, and Tebboune, incapable of maintaining his belligerent stance, has resigned himself to erasing decades of obsessive hostility toward Morocco with a mere stroke of a pen.
Algeria believed it could dictate terms to Paris, but reality has hit hard: it lacks both the economic weight and the political credibility to make a power like France yield. Its failure against Spain in 2022 should have served as a lesson. But, trapped in desperate arrogance, it persisted in its mistakes—only to suffer an even greater humiliation.
This diplomatic disaster leaves no room for doubt: Algeria is abandoning its blackmail over the Sahara issue. Tebboune himself confirmed this, in an astonishing display of servility, by declaring that “the issue does not concern us, it is up to the UN.” A spectacular reversal that permanently removes the Moroccan Sahara from Algeria’s agenda. What was once an obsessive fixation has now become a non-issue.
By surrendering in this manner, Algiers is, despite itself, sending a clear message to foreign diplomatic circles: the recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara will no longer be a cause for crisis with Algeria. This marks a major geopolitical shift, signaling the end of an era when the military regime could still maintain an illusion of influence on the international stage.
An Irreversible Diplomatic Isolation
This capitulation only deepens Algeria’s isolation on the global stage. Deprived of its main leverage, it now finds itself without any real influence. Meanwhile, Morocco continues to consolidate its position, securing diplomatic recognitions and strengthening strategic alliances with world powers. Rabat, with its masterful diplomacy, has successfully navigated an intelligent and effective approach—whereas Algiers has trapped itself in a rigid and outdated stance.
History is moving forward, and it no longer has room for regimes clinging to obsolete dogmas. Algeria has just suffered a crushing setback, one that will go down in history as one of the greatest failures of its diplomacy. A debacle that heralds a profound reconfiguration of the geopolitical landscape in the Maghreb. While Morocco progresses, Algeria sinks irreversibly into defeat and insignificance.
Abderrazzak Boussaid / Le7tv
