According to several historians, Sidi Bouzid is none other than Poseidon. In Greek mythology, he is the god of the seas and raging oceans, a bringer of death and responsible for earthquakes.

To have his blessing, sailors once built temples where offerings were made to him. Centuries later, and by a coincidence whose secrets only linguistics can decode, these temples took the name of Sidi Bouzid.

From Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia, where the young Bouâzizi set himself on fire on 17 December 2010, to Sidi Bouzid in Morocco and more precisely to Douar Bahhara, which adjoins it, another young man, Y.N., set himself on fire on 27 December 2011. The approach is quite astonishing; the distance between the two Sidi Bouzids is significant, but the social gap between the two victims is insignificant, as are the motives behind this act in a moment of despair.

Indeed, Y.N., like all his neighbours and nearby villages, decided to follow the wave of illegal construction since the opportunity was favourable, by enclosing a family plot of 80 m2 with bricks; his means did not allow him to do better. Perhaps in the future, he will be able to finish what he started inside this enclosure, when representatives of the authority of the 6th arrondissement of El Jadida appeared to prevent him from finishing his enterprise without a building permit. According to witnesses, he was verbally and even physically assaulted. Offended, he emptied his motorbike's tank and poured petrol over his body. He set himself on fire, but was saved by a citizen at the last minute. He is currently hospitalised at the city's polyclinic and is receiving intensive care for third-degree burns.

This incident occurred 26 days after the failed intervention by the authorities for the same reason not far away at Douar Lamnadla. Their retreat was perceived by the inhabitants as a green light, thus encouraging anarchic constructions. Currently, all the Douars bordering El Jadida, without any exception, are building illegally: adding floors and boundary walls, building new homes and commercial premises, anarchic subdivision of land and sale of this land at 1,500 to 2,500 dh/m2. The legalisation of sales deeds is done in Casablanca at 4,000 per deed according to a witness, especially after the sanctions taken against certain civil servants in Azemmour where these deeds are usually drawn up. Others, smarter, draw up their sales contracts on simple paper but in the presence of 4 witnesses who, obviously, swap roles. Taking advantage of this situation, new informal or anarchic property developers have emerged. This business is doing well.

Regarding land, construction is carried out on other people's land, without respect for private or State property, or for roads whose narrowness inevitably blocks passage. Construction is also taking place on sewage pipes and manholes, and even near the N°1 national road near Douar Tikni.

At the root of this situation are fiscal and urban regulations that would benefit from becoming more flexible and more favourable to the destitute.

Instead of being a citizen-oriented urban agency that listens to taxpayers, the one in El Jadida adds fuel to the fire by forbidding citizens from accessing it without an appointment. This agency, whose mission is to unblock everything that can be, does exactly the opposite.

For example, the area required to obtain a building permit in rural areas is 10,000 m2. A project of 9,960 m2 will be rejected for non-compliance, whereas in Khmiss M’Touh, the fiefdom of a parliamentarian, the agency issues favourable opinions for 1,000 m2. As for restructuring projects, they simply do not appear on this agency's agenda.