Editing French protectorate in Morocco (section)

====Lyautey and the Protectorate (1912–1925)====
[[File:General Lyautey-Pirou-img 3150.jpg|thumb|Marshal Lyautey, first [[List of French residents-general in Morocco|resident general]] of French Morocco. He represented French colonial interests while also upholding the authority of the [[List of rulers of Morocco|sultan]].]]

[[Hubert Lyautey]], the first [[Resident-General]] of the Protectorate, was an idealistic yet pragmatic leader with [[royalism|royalist]] leanings, who made it his mission to develop Morocco in every sector under French influence. Unlike his compatriots, Lyautey didn't believe that France should directly annex Morocco like [[French Algeria]], but rather remodel and re-educate Moroccan society. He promised that, in this process, he would:

{{blockquote|...offend no tradition, change no [[Moroccan culture|custom]], and remind ourselves that in all human society there is a ruling class, born to rule, without which nothing can be done...[we] enlist the ruling class in our service...and the country will be pacified, and at far less cost and with greater certainty than by all the military expeditions we could send there...}}

Lyautey's vision was ideological: A powerful, pro-French, [[Westernization|Westernized]] monarchy that would work with France and look to France for culture and aid. Unlike in Algeria, where the entire nobility and government had been displaced, the Moroccan nobility was included in Lyautey's plans. He worked with them, offering support and building elite [[private school]]s to which they could send their children; one notable attendee of these schools was [[Thami El Glaoui]].<ref name="ReferenceA">"A History of Modern Morocco" p.90-91 Susan Gilson Miller, Cambridge University Press 2013</ref>

Lyautey allowed the Sultan to retain his powers, both nominal and practical: He issued decrees in his own name and [[royal seal|seal]] and was allowed to remain the religious leader of Morocco; he was further allowed an all-Arab court. Lyautey once said this:

{{blockquote|In Morocco, there is only one government, the {{Wikt-lang|en|sharifian}} government, protected by the French.}}

[[Walter Burton Harris]], a British journalist who wrote extensively on Morocco, commented upon French preservation of traditional Moroccan society:<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

{{blockquote|At the Moorish court, scarcely a European is to be seen, and to the [[Moroccans|native]] who arrives at the Capital{{sic}} there is little or no visible change from what he and his ancestors saw in the past.}}

Lyautey served his post until 1925, in the middle of the [[Rif War|failed revolt]] of the [[Republic of the Rif]] against the Franco-Spanish administration and the Sultan.