Happy Independence Day

Happy Independence Day Morocco!  2 mars 1956. Bonne fête d’indépendance de bladna

March 2nd, 1956 was officially the end of the French protectorate in the kingdom. During the reign of Mohammed V, as King of Free Morocco and Sultan, Independence Day was celebrated on that date. It was under Hassan II that there was the change that still prevails today despite attempts to honor this day in 2011.

March 2, 1956 is a date almost forgotten in Morocco. And yet it officially acts the recovery of sovereignty of the kingdom after 44 years of French tutelage. That day, the page of the French Protectorate was officially turned with the end of the Treaty of Fez concluded March 30, 1912. An event that had crowned more than a week of negotiations between King Mohammed V and the President of the French Council, Guy Mollet. Under the reign of the late monarch, Moroccans used to celebrate Independence Day on March 2nd.

It was only with the accession to the throne of Hassan II on March 3, 1961, that the change occurred. A context that prevails until today. Textbooks, the media, the administration and the majority of political parties have all contributed to anchoring this change in the memory of generations since the 1950s.

November 18, chosen to celebrate the independence of Morocco, also remains an important date in the history of the kingdom. Two days after his return from exile, on November 16, 1955, first in Corsica and then in Madagascar, the sultan pronounced a memorable speech to the nation. In front of a jubilant crowd, he said he was fully determined to recover all areas still under French, Spanish and international control (Tangier, ed). From 1927 to 1961, Moroccans commemorated the accession of Mohammed V's throne every November 18.


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