An uprising in the 1920s against French and Spanish rule in Morocco, the" War of the Riff,"
gave rise to fierce international debates about the fundamental nature of colonialism. These
debates about colonialism's political and legal legitimacy also implicated a broad range of
libidinal postures in the relations between" Orient" and" Occident," bringing into play a
diverse array of gendered and sexualized desires. This article explores the range of such
political, legal, and libidinal postures on the French Left, including those of Socialists …