remained 'The Bey of the French'. In August 1946 when the capital was at a standstill during a general strike to protest the arrest of several nationalists, he feigned ill-health to cancel the ceremony of kissing hands which he was due to hold for Eid al-Fitr, but when he passed through the streets of Tunis in February 1947 on the Mawlid festival, he could readily see his subjects' indifference. The anniversary of his accession was regarded by shopkeepers as a good occasion to close their premises and put up portraits of his predecessor. People even spat on his car. His health deteriorated in the face of this hatred and in 1947 an x-ray revealed a lesion in his left lung. Dr. Mohamed Ben Salem (1915–2001), husband of his daughter Princess Zakia, became his doctor and later his political advisor as well. On 3 March 1947, the new French Resident General Jean Mons arrived in Tunis. The political situation had remained unchanged since the end of the war – the Destour and Neo Destour could agree on nothing except the demand to remove Lamine Bey and reinstate his predecessor. The court was consumed by a morbid obsession with his restoration. Indeed, the mood was so pervasive that Mons suggested to the French government that they proceed to restore Moncef Bey. Prime Minister Paul Ramadier refused, fearing the adverse reaction of French settlers in North Africa. On 19 July 1947 a new Grand Vizier, Mustapha Kaak, was appointed by the Resident General. For the first time, there was parity between Tunisians and French in the government. Moncef Bey died in exile on 1 September 1948. His remains were brought to Tunis on 5 September for burial, and thousands of Tunisians turned out to pay their respects to him. His family threatened to boycott the ceremony if Lamine Bey attended, and he made no effort to present his condolences to them. However this was a turning point for his reign, as the possibility of Moncef Bey's restoration was now removed, and for the first time, his people began to regard him as their legitimate ruler. Closer relations with the nationalist movement (1948–53) After the death of Moncef Bey, relations between Lamine Bey and the nationalists improved. The Bey worked clandestinely with Habib Bourguiba and Salah Ben Youssef to raise demands for Tunisian self-government and during the period 1948–1951 was able to put the