Treaty of Fes

The Treaty of Fes (معاهدة فاس, Traité de Fès), officially the Treaty Concluded Between France and Morocco on 30 March 1912, for the Organization of the French Protectorate in the Sherifien Empire (Traité conclu entre la France et le Maroc le 30 mars 1912, pour l'organisation du protectorat français dans l'Empire chérifien), was a treaty signed by Sultan Abd al-Hafid of Morocco under duress and French diplomat fr on 30 March 1912. It established the French protectorate in Morocco, and remained in effect until the Franco-Moroccan Joint Declaration of 2 March 1956. The treaty gave France the right to occupy certain parts of the country with the pretext of protecting the Sultan from internal opposition, and to hold actual reins of power while preserving the mask of indirect rule consisted of the Sultan and the Sharifian government. Under the terms, the French Resident-General held absolute powers in external as well as internal affairs, and was the only one capable of representing Morocco in foreign countries. The Sultan however, retained the right to sign the decrees (dahirs), which were submitted by the Resident-Generals. When news of the treaty finally leaked to the Moroccan populace, it was met with immediate and violent backlash in the Intifada of Fes. Weakened by defeat in the Franco-Moroccan War, Morocco signed the Anglo-Moroccan Treaty of 1856, which broke the Moroccan state's monopoly on customs revenue, a vital source of income for the Makhzen. The Treaty of Wad Ras following the Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–60) forced Morocco to take a massive British loan—larger than its national reserves—in order to pay off a massive war indemnity to Spain, putting the Makhzen further in debt. European presence in Morocco—in the form of advisors, doctors, businessmen, adventurers, and even missionaries—dramatically increased after the Madrid Conference of 1880, which was held at the behest of Sultan Hassan I in response to France and Spain's abuse of the protégé system.