Thousands of Moroccans protest against soaring fuel prices and other costs

Demonstrations coincide with 11th anniversary of the wave of protests in Morocco known as the February 20 movement

Moroccans gather in front of the parliament in the capital Rabat to protest against rising prices, on Sunday. AFP

Protests broke out in several Moroccan cities on Sunday as people rallied against rising prices and to commemorate the 11th anniversary of demonstrations that called for reform.

The North African kingdom is the latest of several countries where public anger has erupted over high global energy prices, which are driving inflation to decade-high levels around the world.

The Moroccan demonstrations coincided with the anniversary of the wave of protests known as the February 20 movement, inspired by the Arab uprisings that took place around the region in 2011.

In the capital of Rabat, a protest took place outside the parliament building. Holding placards, protesters chanted slogans against the government for its failure to keep spiralling prices under control, leading more people to fall into poverty.

Police were stationed in large numbers around the protest site.

Smaller demonstrations broke out in other cities where protesters called on the government to immediately intervene to protect the people’s purchasing power.

The minister delegate in charge of the budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, said the government has adopted various measures to ease the strain on Moroccan households, but acknowledged they remained “insufficient”.

The government blamed the surge in prices of basic goods on a combination of the global post-pandemic economic recovery and the increase in prices of grains and oil products on international markets.

The country is also reeling from the effects of its worst drought in decades.

The national average rainfall for this rainy season so far is just 7.5 centimetres, which is 64 per cent lower than a normal year, the royal palace said. It said 10 billion Moroccan dirhams ($1 billion) had been allocated to mitigate the drought’s impact on the agricultural sector and the economy as a whole.