Morocco’s Controversial Car Guards: Tourists Face Soaring Parking Fees in Public Spaces

"After Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, let’s prepare to face the ’parking’ rates that will increase this summer as in previous years," warned one of the activists on social media. The rates are indeed exorbitant. Videos posted on the web show car guards in Larache asking people to pay set amounts, even though these spaces are "free." Activists express their surprise at the "presence of paid parking signs" in violation of the law. "Imposing fees to access beaches, which are public property, is illegal," they affirmed. On Facebook, activists launched the "#Farsha_Moul_Jili" hashtag to report the inconveniences they suffer from car guards in tourist areas and indicate the geographic location where these "inconveniences" occurred. They illustrated their posts with photos.

"The presence of these rates is illogical and illegal, and cannot be accepted again in tourist areas this summer," lashed out Abdelkabir Jaafari, a civil actor from the city of Rabat to Hespress, noting that in addition to their illegality, "these concessions experience irregularities in prices every summer." Jaafari is surprised that the local authorities have ceded these public spaces to certain "parking" companies. For him, "allowing these practices increases the repulsion of citizens towards coastal tourist areas. [...] The law does not allow these practices. The existence of ’parking’ fees is totally contrary to the law and it must be stopped this year before anything else." Faced with this situation, Jaafari called for "the cancellation of these fees for citizens, and the end of this phenomenon that increases the difficulties of citizens wishing to relax and spend time with their families."

"The authorities must be aware of the seriousness of this phenomenon and its psychological impact on citizens," said Ahmed Bioud, founding president of the "With Consumers" association. He called on the authorities to install surveillance cameras in the areas they have granted to "parking" companies, to ensure their organization and compliance with the set rates. He also mentioned the multiple dysfunctions generated by this phenomenon, including "attacks on citizens’ cars, lack of insurance, and other things." Bioud also stressed the "need to add a clause" in the specifications for the "temporary concession of public property to manage and operate public car, motorcycle and cart parks" in municipalities, "requiring the authorities who have granted the permit to put in place monitoring mechanisms to ensure compliance with the set rates."