French Town Sues Tangier Over Alleged Illegal Cemetery on Shared Land

The municipality of Tangier is once again facing justice. A French municipality has, through its lawyers, filed a complaint against it before the administrative court of the city, reports Al Akhbar. It accuses the municipality of having illegally exploited a property of more than 7,000 m² that it holds in co-ownership, by transforming it into a public cemetery in the Tanger-Balia area, under the jurisdiction of the Mghogha district. The French municipality demands either the restitution of its land rights from the municipality of Tangier, or financial compensation for the damages suffered. The court is already looking into the case: an on-site expert assessment has been ordered, in the presence of a bailiff, in order to ascertain the occupation of the land and the extent of the irregularities.

In Tangier, land disputes are legion. Last year, the municipality would have recorded losses close to 420 million dirhams due to unfavorable court decisions related to land disputes and administrative errors, the same source said. According to a report by the Ombudsman’s Office, the municipality of Tangier is among the public entities most often condemned by the courts, representing 19% of the judgments rendered against public institutions nationwide.