It was 12:30 a.m., this Saturday, the first day of Ramadan. The temperature recorded a rise, until then unexpected in Tan Tan where most of the inhabitants of neighbouring cities have taken the habit of coming in search of freshness and to stock up on fresh water sold at a high price in the cities of the South, from Smara to Dakhla.

This year, holidaymakers from elsewhere were disconcerted by the rise in temperatures and water cuts. They do not understand. How in a city renowned for the abundance of its water, can one remain 48 hours without a single drop of water, in this first week of Ramadan and with a temperature approaching 50°?

Faced with such a situation, the inhabitants of the Bir Anzarane district decided to organise a night march blocking the national road n°1 and spreading cans and barrels to the cries of "Nothing but water, we want nothing but water!". The arrival of a high-ranking police officer made it possible to unblock the situation with, nevertheless, a threat from the protesters to repeat the next day if the problem is not solved.

In Guelmim, the situation is more catastrophic, because in addition to the water cuts that lasted more than 48 hours, there was a power cut.

Taking advantage of the disorder created by this situation, some exacerbated the anger of the populations by telling them that the authorities had sanctioned those who protested against the shortages, by ordering power cuts. This led the protesters to burn tyres, arguing that they were doing it to light themselves.

The years of drought that have followed one another and the creation of a bottling unit for Tan Tan waters can justify the deficit recorded at the level of the water table that supplies the city and other localities of the Saharan provinces. This has, moreover, led the authorities to plan the creation of a seawater desalination unit to meet the needs of a city where the demographic explosion is among the most important in the country.