Treaty of Bardo

The Treaty of Bardo (French: Traité du Bardo, Arabic: معاهدة باردو) or Treaty of Ksar Saïd established a French protectorate over Tunisia that lasted until World War II. It was signed on 12 May 1881 between representatives of France and the Tunisian bey Muhammed as-Sadiq, placing Tunisia under the control of the French Resident-General.

The treaty allowed France to control certain geographical areas under the guise of re-establishing order and protecting the Bey from internal opposition and also gave France responsibility for foreign-policy decisions of Tunisia. Later, the Conventions of La Marsa of 8 June 1883 gave France a right to intervene in Tunisia's domestic affairs. Thus subject to the Resident-General’s absolute power, the country lost almost all autonomy not only in external but in practice also in internal affairs.