In 1904 the French government was trying to establish a protectorate over Morocco, and had managed to sign two bilateral secret agreements with Britain (8 April 1904, see Entente cordiale) and Spain (7 October 1904), which guaranteed the support of the powers in question in this endeavour.
Den franske regering havde i 1904 forsøgt at etablere et protektorat i Marokko og havde formået at underskrive to bilaterale hemmelige aftaler med Storbritannien (8. april 1904) og Spanien (7. oktober 1904), som sikrede støtte fra de to stormagter til denne bestræbelse.