Read Between the Lines #2: Morocco’s GenZ 212 protests

Moroccan journalist “Nadia” looks at France24’s coverage of the current GenZ 212 protests and wider social discontent among Morocco’s youth

Hello and welcome to Translator’s weekly Dispatch.

This week, we’re running our second in a new format of Dispatch that we’re calling Read Between the Lines, where we commission a journalist or commentator from beyond the Anglosphere to interpret a recent article they have found interesting or important from their local media landscape: decoding the article’s meaning in the broader political, cultural and social context in which it was written, helping us understand how it would be read locally and giving us insight into what is making headlines (and why).

In this Read Between the Lines, we asked Moroccan journalist “Nadia” – not the person’s real name – to write about the current GenZ 212 protests in Morocco and how they are being reported (or not).

“GenZ 212 protests: social anger reveals flaws in Morocco’s development approach”, France24

Morocco’s GenZ 212 protests

As Morocco prepares to host the Africa Cup of Nations later this year and cohost the 2030 World Cup, the football-loving nation that cheered its national team to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals in Qatar is now questioning the costs and benefits of being a host itself.

On 27 and 28 September, thousands of Moroccan youth took to the streets in peaceful nationwide protests against the construction of stadiums costing billions of dirhams, while vital sectors like healthcare and education remain underfunded.

An article by France24, entitled “GenZ 212 protests: social anger reveals flaws in Morocco’s development approach” reports:

كشفت موجة الاحتجاجات التي اجتاحت مدن المغرب منذ 27 سبتمبر / أيلول الماضي، عن عمق التوتر الاجتماعي الذي يختبئ خلف الواجهة اللامعة لمشاريع البنية التحتية والملاعب الرياضية الحديثة.

The wave of protests that has swept across Moroccan cities since 27 September has exposed the depth of social tensions lurking behind the glittering facade of infrastructure projects and modern stadiums.

While major cities like Rabat and Casablanca have completely transformed their landscape in the past few years with new infrastructure projects, including stadiums, skyscrapers, theatres and hotels, like the Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex, Mohammed VI Tower and the Grand Theatre of Rabat, there are many cities, towns and villages in Morocco that are not getting the same treatment. As someone who grew up in the Southeast of Morocco, I am all too familiar with what it’s like to live in the forgotten parts of this country. Basic facilities like public schools and hospitals remain severely underfunded, with the population suffering from lack of medical facilities coupled with a high drop-out and unemployment rates especially among the youth.

فالمطلب المشترك بين المتظاهرين يتمثل في تحسين الخدمات الصحية والتعليمية، حيث رُفع شعار “لا نريد كأس العالم.. الصحة أولاً” عقب وفاة ثماني نساء أثناء الولادة بمستشفى أكادير.

The common demand among the demonstrators is to improve health and education services, with the slogan “We don’t want the World Cup… health first” being raised following the deaths of eight women during childbirth at Agadir’s hospital.

The GenZ 212 protests were announced on Instagram and Discord by Gen Z youth, “highlighting a new role for digital space”, after the death of eight pregnant women in Hassan II Regional Hospital in Agadir, a city in Southwestern Morocco. (The GenZ 212 name given to the protests is a combination of Generation Z with Morocco’s international +212 dialling code). These tragic deaths were followed by protests in Agadir on 14 September, and a visit by the Morocco’s Health Minister, Amine Tahraoui, two days later. However, this visit and the following administrative procedures did not reassure the locals nor the rest of the nation.

ويعتبر هذا الحراك الأوسع منذ احتجاجات 2011 التي أعقبت الربيع العربي

This movement is considered the largest since the 2011 protests that followed the Arab Spring.

When the GenZ 212 protests began, I felt a strange familiarity, as if history was repeating itself. In 2011, I visited Casablanca for the first time. I was 10 years old. I vividly remember a group of young people marching down the street, holding banners. I was standing with my dad among onlookers on the sidewalk, unsure what the young protesters were demanding. At the street intersection, police in heavy gear prepared to block the march. Before anything escalated, we left.

I only understood what I had witnessed later, when I learned about the Arab Spring and Morocco’s 20 February 2011 protests. These demonstrations prompted constitutional reforms, promising to guarantee basic right like healthcare, education, employment, freedom of speech and to hold corrupt officials accountable.

Fast forward to today, a new generation is protesting, demanding the same rights as their predecessors and facing the same authoritarian repression. I realised the Arab Spring never truly ended. It lay dormant. Government after government deceived themselves and their citizens, portraying Morocco as perfect, peaceful and prosperous, while most people struggled with harsh living conditions.

Gen Zers have had enough. They filled the streets with chants like “We don’t want the World Cup, healthcare first” and “Freedom, dignity and social equality”. Their slogans echoed across Morocco, from major cities like Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech and Tangier to smaller, long-neglected towns.

وأسفرت عن مقتل ثلاثة أشخاص واعتقال أكثر من 400 آخرين، قبل أن تهدأ وتيرة العنف تدريجيًا.

Three people were killed and more than 400 others arrested, before the violence gradually subsided.

To the protesters’ dismay, Moroccan police responded with dispersal orders and unlawful arrests. Hundreds, including minors and journalists, were detained nationwide. Some were released without charges, while others faced fines or are still awaiting court dates.

Many of the youth who were detained while exercising their right to peaceful protest, as granted by the Moroccan constitution, took to social media afterwards to denounce the mistreatment they were subjected to by the Moroccan police. In a tearful Instagram video, one girl states that they were left standing in cramped spaces, not allowed to use the bathroom, and left without any food or water for 12 hours.

Despite being arrested and barred from filming, the protestors continuously shared updates on social media. In a viral selfie, a group of protestors are shown inside a police van, smiling as a sign of resistance. In another heartbreaking video, a father is thrown into a police van with his toddler strapped to his chest. Activists were also subject to arrest and blatant censorship. While giving a press statement denouncing police brutality against minors, president of the NGO Touche pas à mon enfant ماتقيش ولدي (Don’t Touch My Child), Najat Anwar, was accosted by the police mid-speech.

As the protests continued through Monday and Tuesday, the protestors were met with more violence and extreme measures to disperse them. In Oujda, a city in Northeast Morocco, a police vehicle ran over two protestors, causing severe injuries. Amin, one of the victims, had to be flown by helicopter to Rabat to undergo surgery, an event many citizens found ironic since one of motives for the protests was how quality healthcare is only found in Rabat and Casablanca. The other victim, Wassim, remains in critical condition in the ICU of regional Oujda’s hospital.

What started as peaceful protests erupted into riots and acts of vandalism in many cities and small towns including southern cities of Tiznit, Inzegane and Ait Amira, as well as Oujda, and Temara and Sla near the capital. In the late hours of 30 September – the fourth day of the protest – stores, banks and administrations were broken into, public and private properties were destroyed, and police officers were stoned, while some of the vehicles were smashed or set on fire by the looters. According to the Interior Ministry, 260 police officers and 23 protesters sustained injuries of varying gravity, while 142 police vehicles were set ablaze; 409 individuals were taken into police custody.

The GenZ 212 Instagram page condemned the violence and vandalism stating that they have no place in the movement. They even urged young people to take part in cleaning campaigns on Saturday to make up for the damage.

On 1 October, three young men were shot dead in Lqliaa, a city near Agadir, as they attempted to break into a gendarmerie. Police stated that they were acting in self-defence with many Moroccans doubting that statement’s veracity. One of the deceased, Abdessamade Oubalat, a recent graduate from the Institute of Professional Training in Cinema Professions in Ouarzazate, was shot while trying to document the protest.

رئيس الحكومة عزيز أخنوش إلى “الحوار كسبيل للمضي قدما”

Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch calls for “dialogue as a way forward.”

On the morning of 2 October, the head of the government, the controversial billionaire, Aziz Akhannouch, broke his silence in an official statement: “The developments that have taken place over the past two days in a number of cities in the Kingdom, which have witnessed a dangerous escalation that has undermined public security and order, led to the injury of hundreds of members of the public forces and damage to public and private property,” he said, noting that “three deaths have been recorded, may they rest in peace.” He also emphasised the government’s readiness to respond to the youth’s demands and to open dialogue and discussion within institutions and public spaces. Listening to the head of the government’s statement and to other similarly worded communications by ministers and officials, I couldn’t help but note the lack of remorse and accountability and the use of language was generic and disconnected from the language of the people.

According to the France24 article: “a poll showed that trust in political parties fell to 33% in 2023, compared to 50% the previous year.” With elections on the horizon in 2026, public opinion does not favour Akhnouch’s government, nor the other parties that dominate the Moroccan political scene. In fact, GenZ 212 now demands that the current government resign or be dismissed by King Mohammed VI.

المثير أن المجموعة الشبابية “جيل زد 212” اقتبست في بيان لها مقولة للملك من خطاب عام 2017 جاء فيها:

“إما أن تقوموا بمهامكم كاملة، أو أن تنسحبوا.”

Interestingly, the youth group “GenZ 212” quoted the King’s 2017 speech in a statement: “Either you fulfil your duties fully, or you withdraw.”

As the GenZ 212 protests now enter their second week, the government’s response has been deemed unsatisfactory by the majority of the populace, and police violence remains a reality that threatens the protestors.

I am ashamed to admit that I didn’t participate in the protests. Like many, I was paralysed by fear, not only of the abuse I might face, but of the consequences for my personal, academic and professional life, and for my family, who could be investigated or harassed by the Moroccan police. As a member of an already marginalised group, the Moroccan LGBT community, I couldn’t risk being outed. Perhaps it was cowardice or perhaps caution. I can’t tell. I stayed at home, refreshing my feed hourly, witnessing the bravery of my generation, queer and otherwise, who took to the streets, a bravery I have yet to summon.

Walking through Rabat both pains me and fills me with hope. Millions are spent on tourist projects while other regions languish in neglect. Police vans loom everywhere, turning the city into a panopticon. Yet I see my generation, fuelled by hope and anger, refusing to settle for less than what is rightfully ours, rallying both in person and online to show what it truly means to love this country.

Original article (“احتجاجات “جيل زد 212”... غضب اجتماعي يكشف خللا في المقاربة التنموية بالمغرب”) by France24 was published in Arabic on 6 October 2025.

It’s available here.

“Read Between the Lines #2: Morocco’s GenZ 212 protests” was written by Nadia*

*Name has been changed to protect the individual’s identity and ensure their safety.

That’s all for now – we hope you’ve enjoyed the read. Keep an eye out for our next Dispatch of summaries this time next week!

The Translator team