Western Sahara: the territory bets on tourism

This text is a portion of the transcript of the report above. Click on the video to watch it in full.

It has become a kitesurfer's paradise: Dakhla Bay in the western Sahara , south of Morocco. Shaped by sand, the Atlantic, and the wind, it attracts tourists, particularly French tourists. Rachid Roussafi, a windsurfing champion, was one of the first to discover and promote the spot. "At first, it was my little secret place, and then it became a world-renowned spot," he said. "A lot of emotions, a feeling of freedom, a lot of falls, but they're fresh falls, so it feels good," explained a tourist.

It's hard to imagine, seeing this tourist region, that it's the site of one of the oldest conflicts in the world. Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony bordering Morocco and Algeria, has been claimed for half a century by Rabat, for whom it is an integral part of the kingdom, and by the separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algiers. Rachid Roussafi knew the region at war. "In the 1980s, the place wasn't yet 100% secure, but there was a ceasefire in early 1990," he said.

While more and more countries, including the United States and recently France, recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the region, the United Nations does not. But that doesn't stop Rabat from investing heavily there. Françoise Bastide is French, born in Morocco. She saw the Dakhla region grow from 140,000 inhabitants to 220,000 in 10 years. "There was what we call the rush to the west. It was a phenomenon that started suddenly and where people realized that there was a virgin space there," she said. She bought an old farm to create an oasis with ecological features, animals, and gardens. Françoise Bastide didn't hesitate to settle here. "Of course we live very peacefully. Anyway, I'll tell you, the caravan has passed. The caravan has passed, Morocco has made its way," she confided.

Morocco has allocated more than 8 billion euros for the development plan for the southern provinces, in addition to numerous projects: schools, hospitals, large hotels, desalination plants, and the Dakhla-Atlantique port, with a budget of 1.2 billion. For an investment manager, the location between the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa is strategic. The objective is to make Dakhla a future hub and an intercontinental crossroads and, at the same time, ensure socio-economic development in all the southern provinces," he said.

Among Dakhla's historic residents, many are benefiting from the money. But some are worried about rapid changes and, for a former Sahrawi fisherman, the risk of resource depletion. "We need to take the time to conduct studies and plan fishing seasons. We have cuttlefish, hens, squid, lobsters; I'm worried about the future," he said. Paris supports Moroccan investment. The French Development Agency has just announced €150 million for the region.