French Protectorate

Under the protectorate, a French official known as the resident general was the real ruler of the area under French control, although the sultan was still acknowledged as the official ruler. Meanwhile, parts of the north and southwest of Morocco came under a Spanish protectorate. Unable to accustom himself to being under foreign control, Abd al-Hafid gave up his throne to another brother, Moulay Yusuf.

The first French resident general, Louis Lyautey, showed a deep appreciation for Moroccan culture. He maintained many traditional forms of Moroccan government, so that French colonialism was not as disruptive for Morocco as it proved to be for neighboring Algeria. After Lyautey was replaced in 1926, however, French colonialism began to influence Moroccan culture much more deeply. The European population of Morocco grew, and French education became much more common for Moroccans. Even after Morocco became fully independent decades later, many Moroccans continued to speak French.

When Moulay Yusuf died in 1927, the French chose the late sultan's younger son, Sidi Mohammed as the new sultan. The French believed that the quiet Sidi Mohammed, who became Mohammed V, would be easy to manipulate. However, Mohammed V proved to be a devoted Moroccan nationalist skilled in the political arts. Despite the new sultan's commitment to national independence, he called on Moroccans to serve on the French side when World War II broke out in 1939. Germany defeated and oc-

Cupied France the following year, and the collaborationist French Vichy regime, which cooperated with the victorious Germans, came to power. Mohammed V then followed his own path. He refused to support anti-Jewish laws passed by the Vichy government.

Moroccan nationalist leaders formed a new political party, known as the Independence Party, or Istiqlal. When its leaders were arrested by the French, rioting broke out and anti-French attitudes became more intense. After the war ended in 1945, Mohammed V protested the continuation of the French protectorate by refusing to sign legislation passed by the French colonial government. Without the sultan's signature, the laws had no legal validity. The French were then forced openly to govern by force alone.