Two Moroccan goat breeds (Draa and Noire-Rahalli) and four breeds reared in France (Alpine, Saanen, Poitevine and Pyreneenne) were screened using five microsatellite loci and the highly polymorphic milk protein gene encoding α s 1 -casein. A total of 1975 animals were tested. Allelic frequencies were calculated in order to study genetic variability and phylogenetic relationships. The Moroccan goat breeds and the Pyreneenne showed the highest diversity values (average number of alleles per locus). The correspondence analysis procedure (CAP) showed that the Pyreneenne breed is the French goat breed most closely related to the Moroccan breeds. Unrooted Neighbor-Joining phylogenies were constructed using Nei and Cavalli-Sforza genetic distance estimates. The Phylogenetic trees showed almost the same pattern except for the Poitevine branching position. Genotyping at the α s 1 -casein locus revealed that alleles associated with a high expression level (mainly A and B) are predominant (74 and 94% in Draa and Noire-Rahalli, respectively), whereas allele E, which is rather frequently found (11-60%) in European goat breeds, is rare (2-3%) in the Moroccan goat breeds.