French protectorate in Morocco
Also known as Protectorat français, French Morocco
1912–1956 protectorate in northwest Africa
Key facts
- Status
- Protectorate of France
- Capital
- Rabat
- Official languages
- French
- Common languages
- Moroccan Arabic Hassaniya Arabic Berber languages
- Religion
- Sunni Islam , Judaism , Roman Catholicism
- Government
- Absolute monarchy , (under colonial administration )
- 1912 1927
- Yusef
- 1927 1953
- Mohammed V
- 1953 1955
- Mohammed VI
- 1955 1956
- Mohammed V
- 1912 1925 first
- Hubert Lyautey
- 1955 1956 last
- André Louis Dubois
- Historical era
Article
The French protectorate in Morocco (French: Protectorat français au Maroc; Arabic: الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco (French: Maroc français), was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco that lasted from 1912 to 1956. The protectorate was officially established 30 March 1912, when Sultan Abd al-Hafid signed the Treaty of Fez, though the French military occupation had begun with the invasion of Oujda and the bombardment of Casablanca in 1907.
The protectorate lasted until after World War II with the dissolution of the Treaty of Fez on 2 March 1956, with the Franco-Moroccan Joint Declaration. Morocco's independence movement, described in Moroccan historiography as the Revolution of the King and the People, restored the exiled Mohammed V but it did not end the French presence in Morocco. France preserved its influence in the country, including a right to station French troops and to have a say in Morocco's foreign policy. French settlers also maintained their rights and property.