Casablanca Chaos: False Alarm Triggers City-Wide Panic

Panicked, several companies have ordered their employees to leave the premises before 4 p.m. Shops and businesses have thus closed. Schools have also believed the rumors and have called on parents to pick up their children earlier. In other schools, parents went to the premises to pick up their children. These rumors have led to the blockage of the city of Casablanca by traffic jams. In reality, there are no such instructions, neither from the central authorities nor from the local authorities.

What was it really about? Playing it safe, companies close to the Maréchal square where a demonstration was scheduled for Thursday at 5 p.m. released their employees before 4 p.m. This information spread much faster. Shops and businesses have therefore closed. The demonstration did indeed take place around 5 p.m., and took place in an orderly and peaceful manner. It ended before 8 p.m. The reopening of businesses is effective from 7 p.m.

A similar rumor also spread in Rabat and Tangier.