Rabat – What began as weekend demonstrations has carried into a third day, as Morocco’s Gen Z movement continued its mobilization on Monday.
After mass gatherings in Rabat, Casablanca, and other cities on Saturday and Sunday, young Moroccans once again took to the streets to demand healthcare reform, quality education, justice, dignity, and an end to corruption.
By 6 p.m. today, Bab El Had square in the capital had already been surrounded by security forces. Yet demonstrators pressed ahead, moving through the Medina, along Avenue Mohamed V, near Parliament, and into Joulane Square in the Hassan district.
Protesters and security forces engaged in a prolonged standoff, with gatherings repeatedly dispersed and regrouped over more than four hours. Arrests also remained as heavy as the first two days.
Videos on social media also show incomprehensible violence from police units, who moved forcefully against demonstrators despite the latter’s peaceful stance, leaving many shocked at the disproportionate response to what was intended as a civic expression of social demands.
Persistence despite arrests
Dozens of arrests marked this three-day peaceful protest, with some participants released and others reportedly kept in custody for over twelve hours.
The arrests, made en masse and without clear charges, have drawn sharp criticism online, with activists denouncing what they see as arbitrary measures that lack reason or legal basis.
Still, the movement has not subsided. On Monday, young activists returned to the streets in smaller, decentralized gatherings, signaling their determination to keep the pressure alive despite mounting police presence.
‘Hospitals, not stadiums’
Slogans such as “we want hospitals, not stadiums” and “liberty, dignity, and justice” continued to resonate in Rabat.
The chants reflect growing anger over strained hospitals and underfunded schools, where overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, and poorly equipped facilities mirror the same dysfunction seen in hospitals struggling with a lack of doctors, long waiting times, and insufficient medical equipment.
For many young Moroccans, these failings are not abstract figures but daily realities affecting their families and their futures, fueling their call for a state that invests in people before prestige projects.
GenZ212, organized through a Discord server, has become a focal point of youth frustration in Morocco.
What began as digital conversations has quickly evolved into real-world mobilizations.
The continuation of protests into Monday notes that, despite attempts to suppress them, the demands of this generation remain urgent and unresolved.
Some earlier reports of the ongoing protests left suggestions that have associated the “hospitals, not stadiums” slogan to some kind of stance against Morocco’s bid to organize the World Cup. Yet, talking to some of the protesters, it is obvious that this wave of protests does not imply that Moroccans, absolute fans of football and mad in love with their national team, would possibly oppose the FIFA World Cup 2030 or the construction of new stadiums.
Instead, what the demonstrators are conveying is that priorities must be reordered. The point of their grievance is that, before channeling billions into football infrastructure, the state should invest in hospitals that can adequately treat patients and schools that can properly educate the next generation.
