TV Show “Le Dessous des cartes – Sahara Occidental : conflit ensablé ?” – ARTE (8th September 2018)

Series “Le Dessous des cartes” hosted by Émilie Aubry and directed by Pierre-Olivier François on ARTE
Episode 155 : “Sahara : conflit ensablé ?” (0h12) – 08.09.2018

Link to the show : https://educ.arte.tv/program/le-dessous-des-cartes-sahara-conflit-ensable-

• ABOUT THE SHOW : What is “Le Dessous des cartes” ?

This collection explains and interprets the national and international balances of power based on one single visual element : geographical maps. This geopolitical magazine rests upon three basic principles :

1. The use of the geographical map, which allows you to locate events all around the world et analyse stakes on different scales.
2. The presence of the historical dimension, without which one can only partly understand political behaviours, whether they would be collective or individual. History shapes and sometimes decide. 
3. The will to single out elements that span on a long-term footing : particularly in geopolitics, economy, strategy, evolution of peoples’ rights, environmental questions.

• CONTENR : Brief overview of the discussed topics

According to the UN, it is one of the last colonial conflicts that has not been solved. For fifteen years, Western Sahara’s desert areas – filled with raw materials and opened towards the sea – have been the object of neverending rivalries between Morocco – which occupies 80% of the territory – and Algeria which supports Sahrawi independantists.

A conflict which cause division in the Maghreb, Europe and even the UN Council of security, concerned to not further disrupt a region marked by djihadist insurrections.