The statue was created by French sculptor François Cogné[1] and inaugurated on 5 November 1938 in front of the city's courthouse on Casablanca's main square, now Muhammad V Square. Sultan Mohammed V, Resident-general Charles Noguès, Lyautey's widow Inès de Bourgoing, French minister Guy La Chambre, and other notables attended the ceremony, at which French Academician Louis Gillet gave a florid speech.[2]
A Moroccan stamp of 1946 pictures the statue.[3]
In April 1959, the statue was relocated to the grounds of the nearby French consulate-general in Casablanca, where it remains visible from the square.[4] In 2020, a petition requested the removal of the statue from public view, given its symbolism of colonial oppression under the French protectorate regime.[5]
