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.

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.

[1] The names of the treaty originated with the residence of the Tunis court, Ksar Saïd Palace in Le Bardo, where the Husainid beys had established themselves in the early-18th century.

A raid on Algeria by the Tunisian Khroumir tribe had served as a pretext for French armed forces to invade Tunisia in April 1881.