Controversial Demolitions Spark Protests in Rabat’s Ocean District

During a press conference held on Monday, March 10 in Rabat, attended by the inhabitants and merchants occupying the buildings targeted for demolition in the Ocean district, the group of the Federation of the Democratic Left (FGD) within the City Council stated that the evacuation measures were taking place outside the "legal procedures". "The requests made by the local authorities to the inhabitants of the Saniat Gharbia district and certain areas of the Ocean district to evacuate their homes are not based on any legal basis, especially since most of the inhabitants hold property and land ownership documents, in the absence of any decree of public utility that could justify an expropriation, which constitutes a violation of the constitutional principle of the right to private property," estimated the FGD councilors, representing the opposition.

According to them, these operations are not based on a declared public utility expropriation procedure and are not even included in the urban development master plan of Rabat, which was nevertheless adopted by the Municipal Council on January 29, 2025. The FGD councilors within the Rabat City Council also denounced the "silence" of the public authorities, the "systematic blackout" surrounding the nature of the planned projects on these lands, as well as the lack of transparency concerning the investors involved, "whose identity and nationality have not been revealed," reports Ahdath Al Maghribia.

Speaking out, several residents of the Sania Gharbia district, both owners and tenants, denounced the evacuation methods, as well as requests for the sale or abandonment of their property marked by "abuse of power, intimidation, pressure and bargaining". The residents of the Ocean district, in turn, denounced the verbal nature of the eviction decisions, as well as the deprivation of their right to fair negotiation. They also criticized the imposition of a uniform rate of 13,000 dirhams per square meter, without taking into account the diversity and nature of the dwellings concerned. These residents, the majority of whom have lived in this historic neighborhood for several decades, demand respect for the law.