THE Polisario Front slammed the French government today for recognising Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara to make up for its waning influence in Africa. 

President Emmanuel Macron has written to King Mohammed VI of Morocco with an endorsement of the north African nation’s claim to the disputed territory, a former Spanish colony annexed by its northern neighbour in 1975.

In the letter, revealed today, Mr Macron told the king that the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco in 2007 was the “only basis” for a resolution to the conflict.