From Domestic to International: The Evolution of Moroccan Protest Movements

Source: Pexels

Generation Z is protesting in Morocco over the government's investment in the 2030 FIFA World Cup instead of the struggling healthcare and education sectors. The so-called GenZ212 (Generation Z and Morocco’s +212 country code) youth movement breaks the regional pattern of Moroccan protests. GenZ212’s advocacy for more investment into social services and combat corruption is the same as previous Moroccan protests, but their use of Discord to develop a global network and embrace of globally trending protest symbols, such as One Piece, means that Moroccan protests have reached an international level. GenZ212 have gained traction across Morocco since late September.

On 27 September 2025, protests erupted throughout Morocco in at least 11 cities. These protests were initially violent, with the Royal Gendarmerie using force to suppress the protesters. The 30 September 2025 saw a police-marked vehicle driven into a student from Mohammed First University in Oujda. Similarly, in Lqliâa, the Royal Gendarmerie shot dead three protesters who attempted to raid their police station.

Despite the initial violence, from 2 October 2025 until now, events have taken a more peaceful turn. The GenZ212 organisers have chosen a more peaceful approach, coordinating sit-ins and slogans rather than any aggression.

The primary reason GenZ212 has gained momentum is their call for more investment in healthcare. Morocco has prioritised spending on the 2030 FIFA World Cup, investing two billion dollars into constructing stadiums, but has neglected healthcare services. The Moroccan healthcare system struggles with a chronic shortage of medical products and poor hospital infrastructure. GenZ212 has expressed their discontent with World Cup investment with slogans such as “We do not want the World Cup – health comes first” and “Stadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?” The death of eight women at the Hassan-II Regional Hospital Centre in Agadir in August triggered much outrage across Morocco.  

Another source of outrage for GenZ212 is corruption within Morocco’s political system. On the Corruption Perception Index, Morocco placed 99th out of 180 countries and has a score of 37 with zero being the most corrupt and 100 being the least corrupt, which has not seen significant improvement since 2012. GenZ212 do not believe the current administration can crack down on rampant corruption. Consequently, there have been increasingly more calls for Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch to step down.

This is the third major Moroccan protest since 2011. GenZ212 protesters have the same motivation and demands to the government as Moroccan protesters have had since the first major protest in 2011, but GenZ212’s previous protests lacked a global network.

The 20 February movement in 2011 (F20M) was part of the wider Arab Spring. The movement, much like GenZ212, demanded trials against corruption and more accessible social services. Alongside some activist arrests, the F20M lost momentum after promises of early elections and a 15.9% increase in public expenditure for social services. Instead of significant reforms, the government used money and suppression to pacify F20M. Similarly, in response to GenZ212, the government has already announced a $15 billion investment into healthcare and education. There are concerns that, once more, temporary spending could distract from more fundamental change.

Five years after the F20M movement, Morocco’s second major protest since 2011 began in the Rif region.

Similar to the F20M, the October 2016 to June 2017 Hirak al-Rif movement demanded the right to free trial and the construction of a hospital, cancer treatment centre and university in the Rif region. Again, the Moroccan government appeased protestors by investing $1.1 billion into the region between 2017 and 2021, building the requested hospital and university. Nonetheless, the leader of the Hirak movement, Nasser Zefzafi, was arrested, and force was widely used on protesters.

GenZ212 has many similarities with the F20M and Hirak movement, but primarily differs in its international dimension. The three Moroccan protests are all connected by domestic demands against corruption and for investment in public life. The government’s response of suppression and money is also common to all three. However, the GenZ212 is unique in the methods of its protest through embracing global connections via Discord, a popular messaging platform, and globally trending protest symbols.

The GenZ212 has shifted from Facebook to Discord to organise for their ongoing protests. Both the F20M and the Hirak al-Rif movement used Facebook to organise protests and distribute information across Morocco. By February 2017, Nasser Zefzafi had 59,000 Facebook followers. However, protestors have chosen to use Discord partly due to the police’s familiarity with Facebook from tackling its use by the F20M and Zefzafi. Discord has provided significant advantages for the GenZ212 movement.

A significant advantage of Discord is that it has allowed over 260,000 (as of 9 October 2025) people to join one server to organise times and locations for protests. These members can also join related channels that are specific to their region and local community. This provides a sense that the individual’s voice matters both on a local, regional and national level. This is evident in the evaluation sessions after protests on Discord in the Arabic, French and English languages. An attractive aspect of the platform is the anonymity. No real name or phone number is necessary to sign up. This undoubtedly encourages people to be bolder in expressing their views online with less fear of repercussions. Anonymity is also crucial in the design of the GenZ212 movement. The moderators of the GenZ212 server refuse to take on a leadership role in the movement. The absence of any identifiable figures within the movement is deliberate. The movement is designed as one of the people where everyone has a chance to speak. As well, having no recognisable leadership means that the police have no one to target to destabilise the movement as they did with Zefzafi in the Hirak movement. GenZ212 is not any individual’s movement but rather a collective protest by Moroccans both in the country and in their global diaspora for healthcare, education, and an end to corruption.

Discord has actively involved the global Moroccan diaspora in the GenZ212 movement, unlike the F20M. The Hirak al-Rif movement, using Facebook, encouraged the Moroccan Rif diaspora within Europe to advocate for the region. Likewise, the GenZ212 has reached out to the Moroccan diaspora in Europe in cities such as Amsterdam and Paris, but has extended globally via social media to North American cities such as Montreal. Diaspora advocacy makes other states aware of the GenZ212 movement and adds a sense of global support for the Moroccan youth and pressure for the Moroccan government.

The global dimension of the GenZ212 is further underlined by the popular culture protest symbols that are trending worldwide. The F20M and the Hirak al-Rif movement used Moroccan cultural symbols to protest. In the F20M protests, key symbols were Che Guevara, Palestinian scarves and the Moroccan flag. For the Hirak al-Rif movement, the Amazigh (the people native to the Rif region) and Rif Republic flags were used in support of the Rif region. While still flying the Moroccan flag, the GenZ212 movement has embraced the globally trending One Piece Straw Hat pirate flag as its primary protest symbol. This symbol has been used by youth in Nepal, Indonesia, Peru, Madagascar, and Mexico. Morocco’s youth have associated themselves with other global protests through the adoption of One Piece iconography.

One Piece is premised on pirates and the Revolutionary Army fighting an authoritarian World Government. Many of these global protesters have formed emotional bonds with the manga, and the themes of resistance within it have resonated with them, which the protestors now use to connect with one another.

The international relevance of One Piece is attractive for the GenZ212 movement, but so is the manga’s flexible meaning. It is an all-encompassing symbol of resistance against the government. Protesters read meanings into the manga and adapt it to their current situation. In Indonesia, One Piece is used against tax hikes and a weakening of anti-corruption mechanisms. In Madagascar, One Piece is used to rally against water and power cuts. In Peru, Generation Z are protesting a state of emergency.

GenZ212 cross-border connections and symbols mean that their protest is not only local or regional, but global. This is a new aspect of Moroccan protest that is not clearly identifiable in the F20M and Hirak al-Rif movements. F20M may have drawn inspiration from Egypt and Tunisia, and Hirak al-Rif movement may have engaged Moroccans in Europe, but GenZ212 actively taken the chance to associate itself with a global movement visible from Southeast Asia to Africa to South America. Throughout the three recent major Moroccan movements, the demands of the Moroccan people have remained almost the same, but Generation Z has ensured that these demands are now not only a domestic concern but a global one.

By connecting to global protests through trending global symbols and coordination with the Moroccan diaspora through Discord, GenZ212 has made Morocco a new frontier of Generation Z’s current push for social reform. The Generation Z Moroccan youth protests are, unlike their predecessors, now fixed in an international context, providing an additional source of momentum to reinforce domestic sentiment. As these protests continue and GenZ212 pushes for reform, they have mirror images of their generation’s protests to draw inspiration from and hold themselves accountable to.   

Written by Hugh Hamilton-Plumb

Edited by Ibrahim Alom