Russian Diplomat Caught in Taxi Driver Brawl in Casablanca

A violent altercation between a taxi driver and a driver of a VTC booking application broke out last weekend near a luxury hotel on Avenue des FAR. The origin of this violent brawl was a disagreement born of competition to pick up passengers in this very busy area, reports Alyaoum24. The altercation involved a Russian diplomat and his wife, witnesses to the scene. They had booked a trip via the application to go to the hotel. Subsequently, the police intervened to defuse the situation.

On Monday, the courthouse was surrounded by taxi drivers in solidarity with their colleague. In unison, they denounced unfair competition from VTC transport services, which they say undermine their livelihoods. "The dispute was nothing more than a verbal exchange," they said, assuring that their colleague did not attack the Russian diplomat.

Tensions between taxi professionals and "Indrive" drivers are recurrent. In a statement, the National Coordination and the Regional Office of the National Organization for Human Rights and the Defense of Freedoms in Morocco had mentioned in March a video showing an "Indrive" driver harassed and attacked by a taxi driver. According to them, it was time to settle the "existing disputes between these two categories of the transport sector". "A median solution between them must be found," they had demanded, while also ensuring that they "do not favor the spread of clandestine transport, but demand the regulation of this new sector desired by a large segment of the Moroccan population."