Tangier the years leading up to the First World War, Tangier had a population of about 40,000, about half Muslim, a quarter Jewish, and a quarter European Christians. Of the Europeans, about three-quarters were Spanish artisans and labourers. In 1912, Morocco was effectively partitioned between France and Spain; Spanish Morocco covered the country's far north and far south while the French protectorate covered the central remainder. The last Sultan of independent Morocco, Moulay Hafid, was exiled to the Sultanate Palace in the Tangier kasbah after his forced abdication in favour of his brother Moulay Yusef. Tangier was made an international zone
Casablanca–Tangier high-speed rail line train that operated to Rabat, with revenue service planned to begin by the end of the year.<ref name="rg 11/18"></ref> King Mohammed VI named the high-speed service Al Boraq, in reference to the mythical creature that transported the Islamic prophets. The line is constructed in two sections—a new route from Tangier to Kenitra and an upgrade of the existing route from Kenitra to Casablanca. The Tangier–Kenitra line has a top speed of , while the Kenitra–Casablanca line was rated for when service began, with a planned upgrade to . The trackage from Kenitra to Casablanca is planned to be eventually replaced