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'' (referring to the Moroccan monarchy as the Makhzen), was an entity set up by the French government in 1904 to administer the sovereign debt of the Moroccan Monarchy.

History

The Moroccan Debt Administration originated in 1904, as Morocco's sovereign debt, which had increased significantly following the Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–1860) and the

First Melillan campaign The First Melillan Campaign, also called the Melilla War or the Margallo War (after Juan García y Margallo, the Spanish governor of Melilla whose defeat and death infuriated the Spanish public) in Spain, was a conflict between Spain and th ...

of 1894, was restructured by the

Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas The Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (, ), generally referred to from 1982 as Paribas (), was a French investment bank based in Paris. In May 2000, it merged with the Banque Nationale de Paris to form BNP Paribas. History Background In the ...

(BPPB) in coordination with the French government. as a consequence, France became the only creditor of the Moroccan government. The loan contract was signed on by Moroccan Foreign Minister Si Abdelkrim Ben Slimane, Moroccan Finance Minister Si Mohammed Tazi, and the BPPB's representative Georges Zangarussiano. The loan amount was 62,5 million francs, divided in 125.000 bonds of nominal value 500 francs each, for an interest rate of 5 percent. It was guaranteed by revenue from the Moroccan customs, in the collection of which the Debt Administration would be directly involved. A further loan was negotiated in 1910. An indirect consequence of the 1904

debt restructuring Debt restructuring is a process that allows a private or public company or a sovereign entity facing cash flow problems and financial distress to reduce and renegotiate its delinquent debts to improve or restore liquidity so that it can continu ...

was the establishment of the State Bank of Morocco in 1907, also in Tangier, following the

Algeciras Conference The Algeciras Conference of 1906 took place in Algeciras, Spain, and lasted from 16 January to 7 April. The purpose of the conference was to find a solution to the First Moroccan Crisis of 1905 between France and Germany, which arose as Germany ...

of 1906. The administration acted on behalf of the private debt consortium, under the auspices of the French government but free from hierarchical authority of the French Consul in Tangier. It was initially led by French diplomat , then by Gaston Guiot under whom its expanded into an increasing number of state-like functions, until the Treaty of Fes formally established the

French protectorate in Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco, also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco that lasted from 1912 to 1956. The protectorate was officially established 30 March 1912, when List of rulers of Morocco, Sultan ...

in March 1912. It kept receiving Morocco's customs revenue until 1918, and was still in activity in 1925.

Building

A dedicated building was erected for the debt administration and completed in 1910, on a major new thoroughfare in

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

which was then in the process of being created and was thus initially known as the ; it became the in 1915. It was built in

Moorish Revival architecture Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centu ...

by the local firm of Desforges & Rousseau. With the establishment of the

Tangier International Zone The Tangier International Zone (; ; ) was a 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 Tang ...

, the building initially hosted the offices of the zone's International Administration, which stayed there until 1937. Shortly after

Moroccan independence The Revolution of the King and the People () was a Moroccan anti-colonial national liberation movement with the goal of ending the French and Spanish protectorates in Morocco in order to break free from colonial rule. The name refers to the ...

in 1957, it was the seat of the , an association of businessmen for the improvement of the Tangier economy that issued a monthly publication titled ''Tanger''. As of 2022, the building, also known as ''Dar el-Salaf'' and located at 29 boulevard Pasteur, is the seat of the Regional Tourism Authority (). It also houses the personal library donated in 1985 to the City of Tangier by influential scholar Abdellah Guennoun, whose volumes were transferred there after his death in 1989.

Notes

{{coord missing, Morocco Palaces in Morocco Buildings and structures in Tangier Spanish North Africa Moorish Revival architecture

History

Building

See also

Notes