Nancy (France), March 11, 2026 (SPS) The French Association for the Promotion of the French Language (APF) held its general assembly on Monday in Nancy, in the presence of its members, local elected officials and many supporters of the Sahrawi cause.
During this annual meeting, the participants examined and adopted the association’s activity and financial reports, before electing a new leadership responsible for continuing the solidarity actions carried out for several years in favor of the Sahrawi people.
The APF works, in close collaboration with its Sahrawi partners, notably the Sahrawi Ministry of National Education, the Sahrawi Association for the Teaching of French (ASPECF) and the Union of Sahrawi Journalists (UPES), for the training of Sahrawi teachers and journalists as well as for the promotion of the French language in Sahrawi educational establishments.
These programs help to strengthen the language skills of Sahrawi students and professionals, facilitating their access to higher education and their openness to the world.
The association also carries out constant work to raise awareness among French public opinion of the just cause of the Sahrawi people and actively participates in the humanitarian program “Vacances en Paix”, which allows Sahrawi refugee children to stay for several weeks in France with host families each year.
Speaking to the participants, the representative of the Polisario Front in France, Mohamed Ali Zerouali, expressed the deep gratitude of the Sahrawi people for “the constant solidarity and the remarkable work” of the association.
He stressed that the promotion of the French language in Sahrawi schools constitutes “concrete help and a real investment in the future of young Sahrawis”, recalling that mastery of French facilitates the integration of Sahrawi students in higher education.
Mr. Zerouali also welcomed the role played by the association in the international visibility of the question of Western Sahara, recalling that it remains “a question of unfinished decolonization and the right of peoples to self-determination”.
He finally thanked the French partners involved in welcoming Sahrawi children as part of the “Vacances en Paix” program, in particular Secours populaire, host families, the city of Nancy and the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle.
In her closing speech, the president of the APF, Jacqueline Fontaine, reaffirmed the association’s unwavering commitment to continuing and strengthening its solidarity efforts with the Sahrawi people.
The work of the general assembly ended in a friendly atmosphere with a cultural evening including an oriental dinner, accompanied by music and poetry. (SPS)