The French Consulate General in Tangier is one of the consular representations of the French Republic in Morocco. It has a rich history linked to Tangier's past role as diplomatic capital of the Sultanate of Morocco from the late 18th to the 20th centuries.
France had continuous diplomatic representation in the Sultanate of Morocco, from Guillaume Bérard in 1582 to 1718 when the activity of Barbary pirates operating from Morocco's port cities led to a suspension of the relationship. It restarted with a treaty of 30 May 1767 which provided for a permanent consular representation in a Moroccan port city of France's choosing. Louis de Chénier , the first consul of that new era, established himself in 1768 in Rabat, then known as "New Salé", [1] and stayed in Morocco until 1782, by which time he had moved the consulate to Tangier. [2]
The next French representative arrived in Tangier in 1794, and the French consulate was formally established there on 22 October 1796. [3] : 344 Michel-Ange d'Ornano , a Corsican parent of Napoleon, was consul-general from 1807 to 1814 following diplomats of lesser rank. [2]
In 1816, the consulate moved into an existing building on Rue Es-Siaghine, between the Medina's gate of Bab el-Fahs and the Petit Socco square, with a portal dating back to era of Portuguese Tangier. [4] [5] Eugène Delacroix resided there in 1832 as he was traveling in Morocco together with ambassador Charles-Edgar de Mornay. [6] France eventually purchased the building in 1845, [3] : 332, 345 and elevated the consulate to a legation in 1846. [3] : 348
In 1848, Denmark closed its consulate in Tangier and entrusted the representation of its interests to the United Kingdom. [7] France acquired the vacant former Danish property, a few blocks norths from rue es-Siaghine, and moved its own legation there in 1849, [3] : 350 while selling its previous building to the Moroccan state that made it the residence of the Naib or representative of the Sultan to the foreign communities in Tangier, thus subsequently known as Dar Niaba. [8] Around 1905, the French legation moved again to a rented building next to the Hôtel Villa de France. That new building, still standing but altered since then, had been designed by architect Paul Guadet [3] : 411 for local businessman Haim Benchimol, [8] who had been an interpreter for the French legation in the past. [3] : 250
Following the creation in 1912 of the French protectorate in Morocco, the representation in Tangier was downgraded back to a consulate, as Morocco was still nominally sovereign but practically governed by the French Resident-General in Rabat. After the establishment of the Tangier International Zone in 1923, the French government decided to build more imposing premises, next to a villa it had purchased years before that served as the consul's private residence. The new building, also known as the "Maison de France" (lit. 'House of France'), was designed by local architects Gaston Raulin and Maurice Duché, and built by the firm of Desforges & Rousseau. It was completed in late 1928 under consul Pierre de Witasse. [8]
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Tangier is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Morocco.
Essaouira, known until the 1960s as Mogador, is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It has 77,966 inhabitants as of 2014.
The Tangier American Legation (Arabic: المفوضية الأميركية في طنجة; French: Légation américaine de Tanger), officially the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIMS), is a building in the medina of Tangier, Morocco that formerly housed the United States diplomatic mission to Morocco. It was the first American public property abroad and is the only U.S. National Historic Landmark in a foreign country.
The Kasbah Palace, also known as Dar al-Makhzen, Sultan's Palace or Governor's Palace and formerly as the Sharifian Palace, is a historical building and museum in the Kasbah or citadel of Tangier, Morocco. Its site has long been the main seat of political power in Tangier. The current structure was built in the early 18th century as the residence of the city's governor and home for the Sultan of Morocco when staying in the city, for example Hassan I in 1889. It has been repurposed as a museum since 1922, named the Kasbah Museum of Mediterranean Cultures since renovation in 2016, with the Kasbah Museum Contemporary Art Space added in late 2021.
Rue Es-Siaghine is a street in Tangier, Morocco. Under Roman rule it was the decumanus maximus, the main thoroughfare of the city. The street led to the harbor through the south gate. Today the street is lined with cafes and bars and souvenir shops, and leads down into the Petit Socco in the medina of Tangier.
Fondation Lorin is an art museum located on the Rue Es-Siaghine in Tangier, Morocco. It was named as one of the oldest synagogues in the city. It is located near the Grand Socco and Mendoubia Gardens. Since 1994, it is housed in an old synagogue, and displays items such as newspapers, photographs, posters and plans related to the political, sporting, musical and social history of Tangier since the 1930s. It also has a number of contemporary paintings, and exhibitions are regularly held at the Fondation Lorin.
The Petit Socco, also known as the Place Souk Dakhel, or in Spanish as Zoco Chico, is a small square in the medina quarter of Tangier, Morocco.
The Tangier International Zone was a 382 km2 (147 sq mi) international zone centered on the city of Tangier, Morocco, which existed from 1925 until its reintegration into independent Morocco in 1956, with interruption during the Spanish occupation of Tangier (1940–1945), and special economic status extended until early 1960. Surrounded on the land side by the Spanish protectorate in Morocco, it was governed under a unique and complex system that involved various European nations, the United States, and the Sultan of Morocco, himself under a French protectorate.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Tangier, Morocco.
The Church of the Immaculate Conception, also known as the Spanish Church or La Purísima, is a Roman Catholic church built in 1880-1881 in Tangier, Morocco.
The Roman Catholic Cathedral of Tangier, whose full name is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and the Holy Spirit, also known as the Spanish Cathedral, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tangier, Morocco.
The Royal Palace of Tétouan is a palace of the Moroccan Monarchy in Tétouan, Morocco, and the former main seat of political authority of the Spanish protectorate in Morocco from 1913 to 1956. It encloses both the former governor's palace and the former Spanish consulate, which in the protectorate era respectively housed the Khalifa or personal representative of the Sultan of Morocco on the compound's northwestern side, and the Spanish High Commissioner on its southeastern side. The palace is located on Hassan II Square, a historic urban space also traditionally known as the Feddan, in the Medina of Tétouan.
The Mendoubia or Mandubiyya refers to the former ceremonial mansion of the Mendoub, the representative of the Sultan of Morocco in the Tangier International Zone from 1924 to 1956. It now houses the commercial court of Tangier and a memorial museum.
The Moroccan Debt Administration, formally known as the Contrôle de la dette from 1904 to 1910 and after that as the Administration du Contrôle de la dette publique mahghzénienne, was an entity set up by the French government in 1904 to administer the sovereign debt of the Moroccan Monarchy.
The State Bank of Morocco was a quasi-central bank established in 1907 following the Algeciras Conference, to stabilize the Moroccan currency and serve as a vehicle for European and especially French influence in the Sultanate of Morocco. Following the independence of Morocco, it was replaced in 1959 by the newly created Banque du Maroc, known since 1987 as Bank Al-Maghrib.
Avenue Mohammed V, sometimes referred to by its old name Avenue Dar al-Makhzen, is a major thoroughfare in downtown Rabat, Morocco. Its main section was created under the French Protectorate in Morocco and mostly developed between 1915 and 1932, when it was also known as Cours Lyautey. At the southern end of that section is the As-Sunna Mosque, whose history dates back to the 18th century like that of the nearby royal palace or Dar el-Makhzen.
The Abdelhafid Palace or Moulay Hafid Palace is a historic structure at 23, rue Mohammed Ben Abedelouhab in the Hasnouna neighborhood of Tangier, Morocco. It was built in 1912–1913 as the intended main residence of former Sultan Abdelhafid following his abdication, but was never used for that purpose. In 1927, it was purchased by Italy and subsequently renamed Palazzo Littorio, hosting various public institutions including schools and a hospital. In 1943 the Badoglio government had it renamed Casa d'Italia, and a few years later it became known as the Palace of the Italian Institutions. Even though it still houses various Italian-related activities and was renovated in the early 2000s, it has long remained underutilized.
Dar Niaba refers both literally and metaphorically to the office of the Naib or representative of the Sultan of Morocco to the foreign communities in Tangier, under the Moroccan diplomatic arrangements in place from the 1840s to the Treaty of Fez that ended the country's sovereignty in 1912. The office of the Naib was maintained in a symbolic capacity until the creation in 1925 of the Tangier International Zone, when its last holder Mohammed Tazi became Tangier's Mendoub.
The Beit Yehuda Synagogue, also known as Assayag Synagogue, is a cultural landmark and museum in Tangier, Morocco.
