Marshal Lyautey, the builder of modern Morocco

Sometimes, one man can bring together enough strength and passion to commune with an entire people and mark its history forever.

In March 1912, the Sultan of Morocco, Moulay Hafid, signed the protectorate treaty with France in exchange for its help against the violent rebellions of the tribes that were constantly challenging his power in most of the country.

Two months later, Hubert Lyautey arrived in Casablanca to become the first French resident general in Morocco. He was then 58 years old. He remained in this position for twelve years, enough time to profoundly transform Morocco and bring it towards its modernity.

Very quickly, Lyautey undertook to re-establish the honour and the rites of the Moroccan royalty, which was ancient but largely damaged by decades of struggle and contestation. Deeply royalist, Lyautey thus gave back to the Alawite monarchy the attributes of power. He was indeed convinced that only a sultan recognised in the prestige of his ancestral traditions would be able to cement the Moroccan people, until then torn between incessant tribal separatism.

The birth of a state and a nation

But Lyautey's major legacy lies in his project of building the Moroccan nation. While pacifying the interior of the country by force of arms and alliances, he gathered around him the best experts to build the structural pillars of the country. The architect Henri Prost was commissioned to redesign the new cities of Rabat and Casablanca with the strict instruction to preserve and enhance the ancient hearts of the cities, so that the Moroccans themselves could revive their traditions and crafts.

The Hassan Tower in Rabat was refurbished. Construction of ports and railways, establishment of a civil aviation system, school and health infrastructures throughout the country, archaeology, preservation of know-how… the list is long of these structuring projects undertaken in the interest of Morocco and its people, even if, of course, France's strategic interests are not forgotten, first and foremost the exploitation of the Kingdom's mining resources for its own benefit. 

Despite the reproaches sometimes addressed to him today, the work accomplished is immense.

Lyautey, a faithful friend and unfailing ally of the Kingdom, gave back to the Moroccans the pride of their own history and the solidity of their destiny.