Morocco set for fresh protests as PM urges ‘dialogue’
Morocco set for fresh protests as PM urges ‘dialogue’
Morocco been boiling over this past week, and it doesn’t look like things are calming down anytime soon. A youth-led movement called GenZ 212 is behind the protests, which started after a tragic story broke — eight women died during childbirth at a public hospital in Agadir. For a lot of people, that was the last straw. It felt like proof of how broken the public healthcare system is.
But the anger runs deeper than hospitals. Young people especially are voicing frustration about crumbling schools, lack of jobs, corruption, and the government spending huge sums on stadiums and World Cup prep while basic services lag behind. Chants like “Stadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?” have become the kind of slogan that sticks because it feels true for many.
At first, the protests were mostly peaceful, but things have gotten uglier. In Lqliaa, outside Agadir, three young people were killed when security forces opened fire. Officials say they were trying to storm a law enforcement building and grab weapons. That night alone, dozens were injured, and since the movement began, hundreds have been arrested. Buildings like public and private have been damaged too. The government puts much of the blame on unrest spilling into violence, but organizers of GenZ 212 are urging people to stay peaceful.
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Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch has stepped in with a call for dialogue. He says he wants to listen, to sit down with young people and address their demands. That sounds good on paper, but a lot of protesters aren’t buying it. Some are outright calling for him to step down. There’s this sense that dialogue is just another word for delay unless it comes with concrete actions like better hospitals, better schools, more accountability.
What makes this moment different is how unusual it is for Morocco. The country is often described as one of the more stable spots in North Africa, but this youth uprising is tapping into something bigger. It’s about young people who feel sidelined in their own future, watching resources poured into flashy projects while their basic needs are neglected.
Whether these protests fade or grow depends less on slogans and more on whether the government can put real reforms on the table. If they don’t, this won’t just be another protest cycle, it could be a shift in how Morocco’s younger generation relates to power.
