Leading the Mureaux Nouvelle Génération list, French municipal candidate Fatna Lamir warns of what she sees as attempts to instrumentalize the election campaign in her town. She points to what she describes as «separatist networks hostile to Morocco's unity» operating within the French republican space. DR ‹ › A municipal councilor in Les Mureaux since 2020, independent since 2021, and a French-Moroccan candidate in the March 2026 municipal elections, Fatna Lamir sits in the opposition in a town known for its large binational electorate. She also describes the city as «known for a certain faction supporting the Polisario, which is well identified». In this context, she told Yabiladi that the electoral climate has become toxic, with repercussions on her family life. Lamir accuses the mayor of Les Mureaux, François Garay, of playing a «double game» between different voter bases. «The Moroccan diaspora is the largest, with 4,000 out of 16,000 voters in a city of 34,000 inhabitants», she says. After previously being interviewed at her mother's home, where her mother also spoke publicly, Lamir now says personal attacks against her have spread rapidly, heightening tensions ahead of the municipal elections. «On November 6, 2025, in Laâyoune, I followed in my grandmother's footsteps, who was there fifty years earlier during the Green March. Attending the flag-raising that day was not a political gesture of convenience; it was a moment of family transmission and belonging», she said. In the same interview, Lamir reaffirmed her position on the Moroccan identity of the Sahara and expressed pride in her Sahrawi origins from Guelmim. «This led to reprisals and threats. My mother was even contacted», she said. Nearly three years ago, the councilor also raised questions during a municipal meeting about the allocation of municipal premises to the Association of Sahrawis of France for an event organized by a group known in France for supporting the Polisario. She noted that such initiatives were not unprecedented. Attempts to Divide Voters Speaking to Yabiladi, Lamir said she also questioned the first deputy mayor, Souad Ammouri Mostafi, herself binational and a candidate in the upcoming elections, about the event. According to Lamir, the deputy mayor initially claimed she «was not aware», despite being responsible for cultural affairs and despite the gathering being presented as a cultural event. She later stated that the event was maintained after the organizers were summoned. Lamir denounces what she describes as attempts to «divide the Moroccan electorate», arguing that some voters may not be aware that it was the deputy mayor who did not prevent gatherings she considers politically oriented, and which, in her view, contradict France's current position recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara. Contacted by Yabiladi, Souad Ammouri Mostafi did not respond to requests for comment. Lamir says she is calling on binational voters to «inform themselves about their candidates and municipal councilors to avoid any manipulation». «I am very clearly positioned on the Moroccan identity of the Sahara. Just as the French Republic is one and indivisible, so is Morocco and its Sahara. I do not see any contradiction between my commitments», she said. «I have also taken a position on Palestine by challenging the mayor, since the town hall displayed a Ukrainian flag from 2022 to 2025. International law applies to all». Today, Fatna Lamir mainly denounces the «rumors» circulating about her. «There are claims that I support the Polisario, which is far from reality,» she says. In August 2024, the candidate spoke out against an initiative by other elected officials calling for France to reverse its recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara.
