Youth-led protests turn deadly in Morocco

A boy is detained as youth led protests turned violent, in Sale, Morocco, Oct. 1, 2025 (AP photo by Mosa'ab Elshamy).

At least two people have been killed and hundreds more arrested in Morocco amid ongoing youth-led protests against corruption and poor public services. Local authorities said security forces opened fire on protesters in the town of Lqliaa, in western Morocco, to prevent them from storming a police station.

The demonstrations first broke out on Saturday with demands for improved education and healthcare services, and have since grown into the biggest popular uprising the country has seen in years. They are being organized by a group calling itself “GenZ 212,” a reference to the country’s telephone country code.

As we wrote earlier in the week, Gen Z protests like the ones in Morocco have erupted all over the world this year, including in Nepal, Indonesia, the Philippines and Kenya. The young activists behind these movements have adopted some common symbols and tactics, such as using the gaming app Discord to plan rallies and discuss tactics. But each country also has its own political context and set of issues.

In Morocco, the protesters have mobilized around opposition to the upcoming FIFA World Cup, which the country is set to host in 2030 alongside Spain and Portugal. That has spurred billions of dollars in public spending to upgrade the country’s roads, airports and arenas, even as the kingdom’s schools and hospital systems remains underfunded. Popular chants among the protesters include “Health first, we don’t want the World Cup” and “Stadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?”

According to the World Health Organization, Morocco has fewer than eight doctors per 10,000 people—below the global average of 17 and far below the WHO’s recommendation of 25. Beyond the data, specific incidents have galvanized the protesters. Eight pregnant women reportedly died last month after receiving caesarean sections at a public hospital in the coastal city of Agadir.

Morocco’s government was initially silent in the face of the protests but Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch on Thursday released his first statement on the matter, praising security forces’ response while acknowledging the protesters’ demands and saying he is ready for “dialogue and discussion” with them. This suggests GenZ 212 could now face the new and much more difficult challenge of translating their movement’s demands into tangible successes.

Elliot Waldman is World Politics Review’s editor-in-chief.

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