Casablanca Bans Car Guards and Vendors, Transforming Popular Coastal Areas

Freed from car guards and street vendors, the Casablanca corniche and the Mausolée Sidi Abderrahmane can breathe. This is the result of the "shock operation" launched by the authorities, shortly after the appointment of the new Wali. Visitors can now visit the corniche without having to worry about car guards and their "laws", as observed on site by the daily Assabah. Signs reminding of the free parking are installed there. Now, no more anarchic constructions around the Mausolée Sidi Abderrahmane. The public, including visitors to the Morocco Mall, now have access to the parking lots that were once reserved for the "customers" of certain fake merchants of the Mausoleum.

Previously, individuals in yellow vests, acting as car guards, reigned supreme on the Casablanca corniche and its surroundings. These guards demanded, sometimes brutally, payment from motorists who parked in public places. These spaces, normally managed by the municipal councils, are taken over by these individuals who have no legal right to impose a financial compensation for their "service". This phenomenon caused growing discontent among the people of Casablanca due to mistreatment, extortion and sometimes even threats and insults.