The Moroccan authorities dispatched police reinforcement to the northern city of Fnideq, where protests have erupted over social and economic despair among the population. Moroccan media reported rallies as having erupted because of the closure of the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, essentially starving smugglers from conducting their business. However, the protests are not unlike the protests that have rocked Tunisia and Algeria over lack of economic prospects and governments in disarray.
Sit-ins have been held by protesters since the end of January 2021 to decry the worsening living conditions, amplified by the Covid-19 crisis. The local elite of professionals and intellectuals, headed by Abdelmouhaimen Hamza, a law professor at Rabat-Agdal, have launched a second petition begging for the authorities to urgently intervene and provide some economic lifeline to the north of Morocco. The petitioners urged the government to find a solution to the smuggling business that continues to feed into a heightened state of poverty. The protesters are working to improve their organization with the appointment of coordinators representing the various prefectures and provinces of the north.
