ABSTRACT
‘In appointing General Lyautey as the first resident-general of Morocco, Raymond Poincaré chose more than a man, he chose a definite and well-known policy’. 1 This statement with which Robin Bidwell begins his analysis of Lyautey's native policy, requires some consideration. Did the new resident-general carry with him to Rabat a cohesive plan of action? If so, did he remain consistent with that plan, or did he modify it with time? Was the man who had come to Morocco in 1912 the same one who left it 13 years later? In his mind, was the Protectorate a permanent regime or a temporary one? Did he foresee a post-colonial era in which France would relinquish its patronage and Morocco would fully regain its independence?
