The Treaty of Fes, officially the Treaty Concluded Between France and Morocco on 30 March 1912, for the Organization of the French Protectorate in the Sharifian Empire, was a treaty signed by Sultan Abd al-Hafid of Morocco under duress and French diplomat Eugène Regnault 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 of Fes, with its French text here handwritten in cursive calligraphy, along with a certified Arabic translation written in a cursive mujawhar Maghrebi style.
Sultan Abd-el-Aziz with his bicycle in 1901. The young sultan was noted for his capricious spending habits, which exacerbated a major trade deficit.[page needed]
Eugène Regnault, "the fortunate negotiator," on the front page of Le Matin the day after the signature of the Treaty of Fes.
An illustration of Abd al-Hafid signing the Treaty of Fes on the front page of Le Petit Journal's weekly Supplément illustré, printed August 25, 1912.
Abd al-Hafid of Morocco or Moulay Abdelhafid was the Sultan of Morocco from 1908 to 1912 and a member of the Alaouite Dynasty. His younger brother, Abdelaziz of Morocco, preceded him. While Mulai Abdelhafid initially opposed his brother for giving some concessions to foreign powers, he himself became increasingly backed by the French and finally signed the protectorate treaty giving de facto control of the country to France.
Portrait taken by J. Giry and given as a gift to Ridder van Rappard, special envoy of the Netherlands, on 13 February 1913
An illustration of Abd al-Hafid signing his act of abdication, on the front page of Le Petit Journal's weekly Supplément illustré, printed 25 August 1912.
Muhammad al-Muqri, Charles Émile Moinier [fr], Sultan Abd al-Hafid of Morocco, and Si Kaddour Benghabrit, 8 August 1912
Abdelhafid with Abdelqader Ben Ghabrit in Marseille after his abdication 1912