In 1912 French colonial rule was instituted over Morocco following the Treaty of Fes. Fez ceased to be the center of power in Morocco as the capital was moved to Rabat, which remained the capital even after independence in 1956. Starting under French resident general Hubert Lyautey, one important policy with long-term consequences was the decision to largely forego redevelopment of existing historic walled cities in Morocco and to intentionally preserve them as sites of historic heritage, still known today as "medinas". Instead, the French administration built new modern cities (the "Villes Nouvelles") just outside the old cities, where European settlers largely resided with modern Western-style amenities. The existence today of a "Ville Nouvelle" ("New City") alongside a historic medina of Fez was thus a consequence of this early colonial decision-making and had a wider impact on the entire city's development. While new colonial policies preserved historic monuments, it also had other consequences in the long-term by stalling urban development in these heritage areas. Wealthy and bourgeois Moroccans started moving into the more modern "Ville Nouvelles" during the interwar period. By contrast, the old city (medina) of Fez was increasingly settled by poorer rural migrants from the countryside.