When the Treaty of Fez was signed in 1912, Morocco became a French protectorate. But after the Second World War, calls for independence grew stronger. As early as 1943, US President Franklin Roosevelt had encouraged the Sultan of Morocco, Mohammed Ben Youssef, in his quest for independence. From 1947 onwards, Mohammed Ben Youssef began to distance himself from the protectorate, championing the Arab League and supporting Istiqlal, the Independence Party.
However, the appointment of General Alphonse Juin (1947), Chief of Staff of National Defence, then General Augustin Guillaume (1951) as residents-general in Morocco (official representatives of the French Government in Rabat) showed that France was not yet ready to abandon the country. From 1951, General Juin, supported by conservative French colonists, threatened to depose Mohammed Ben Youssef if he refused to dissociate himself from Istiqlal. The Sultan was forced to yield and agreed to distance himself from the nationalists.
But this did not curb their efforts, and they decided to form the Moroccan National Front. Tensions continued to rise over the ensuing months. In 1952 and 1953, several anti-French demonstrations were repressed with bloodshed. In December 1952, the Arab states managed to place the Moroccan question on the UN agenda. But in 1953, El Glaoui, Pasha of Marrakech, a loyal supporter of the French, conspired to have Mohammed Ben Youssef removed from the palace and exiled in Madagascar. The following day, he was replaced by El Glaoui’s choice for successor, Ben Arafa. From that point on, the nationalists stepped up their action and the attacks increased.
Given the rapid deterioration of the situation, the French Government came under strong international pressure to reinstate the Sultan. Events then began to escalate. On 6 November 1955, French Foreign Minister Antoine Pinay and Mohammed Ben Youssef signed the La Celle-St-Cloud agreements, which led to the independence of Morocco and to the Sultan’s return to the throne as Mohammed V. Ten days later, Mohammed V made his triumphal return to Rabat. Morocco officially gained independence on 2 March 1956 after the signing of a joint declaration in Paris to replace the Treaty of Fez that had established the protectorate in 1912. Tunisia’s turn would come just a few weeks later.
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