Race, Migration, and Fears of Communism in 1948 Morocco

Abstract

This article explores a controversy that struck the French family association in the Moroccan town of Oujda in 1948. In 1941, the French administration introduced a wide array of family benefits designed to support French families and encourage French population growth in the protectorate. Initial attempts at maintaining the racially-exclusive character of this policy did not last long. Due to legal reforms introduced in France, Algerians who migrated to Morocco could claim these family benefits and hold leadership positions in family associations due to their status as French citizens. This situation became particularly contentious in the border town of Oujda where, it was alleged, a local communist managed to take over the local family association by recruiting Algerians from across the border with promises of family benefits and securing their support in return. When French officials disbanded the organization, the disgraced president contested this decision, turned the scandal into a fight for Algerian rights and denunciation of French imperialism, and then disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The scandal involving the AFF in Oujda is revealing of ongoing concerns about shifting demographics, clandestine movement across the Algerian border, demands for rights, and concerns about communism in the years prior to decolonization.