In Morocco, French colonialism was challenged in 1944 when a political party, the Istiqlal (independence) drafted a manifesto. The French responded by arresting its leaders, accusing them of collaborating with the Germans. French troops fired on crowds demonstrating in the city of Fés. France’s Moroccan subjects were outraged. France’s colonial governor, supported by French economic interests and backed by most of Morocco’s European colons, adamantly refused to consider reforms. Official intransigence contributed to increased animosity between the nationalists and the colons and widened a split between Morocco’s sultan and the colonial governor (resident general). In December 1952, a riot broke out in Casablanca. In the aftermath of the rioting, the resident general outlawed the Moroccan Communist Party and the Istiqlal. France exiled Sultan Mohammed V to Madagascar in 1953 and replaced him with the unpopular Mohammed Ben Aarafa, whose reign was perceived as illegitimate. Nationalists and those who saw the Mohammed V as a religious leader intensified their hostilities against French rule.

Source World History and Timeline