The city's streets have become mini-Souks. A picturesque mix of traders and sellers on the ground offering "the deal of the day" or a bric-a-brac of miscellaneous new or old objects, second-hand clothes, and various smuggled products, vegetables, and fish without any respect for sanitary standards. This informal activity, while it allows some people to earn a living, has the effect of affecting an economic life already paralysed in recent months by a constant decline in purchasing power. The main streets and arteries of the city are completely besieged by hundreds of "ferrachas", most of whom have come from Bni Mesquine, Laghnadra, Khouribga, Fkih Ben Salah, Beni Mellal, Ouled Said, Casablanca...

In recent days and with the summer season, this phenomenon has grown to the point that all pedestrian or automobile traffic has become impossible. This type of informal trade has squatted in every available space without any respect for legality. This illegal occupation is done with the "blessing" of some. A visit to the El Hansali, Allal El Kasmi, Zerktouni, Essafaa, El Barkaoui, Saâda, Lalla Zahra squares, Mohammed V Boulevard, and Jamiae Al Arabia Boulevard gives an idea of the scale of the phenomenon. It is impossible to drive there. Everywhere, one finds carts loaded with fruits, vegetables, eggs... Here and there, food stall owners and a multitude of street vendors who present a whole range of goods, to such an extent that one would think they were at the rural Souk of Ouled Bouâziz.

These itinerant merchants, who flood the city with various products, think they can do anything and display their products on public space without shame, given that they give bribes to the representatives of the law enforcement agencies. Worse still, we are also witnessing "territory wars" between gangsters of another era. The inhabitants and the owners of the shops in these neighbourhoods do not stop complaining to anyone who will listen. Noise and fights are the order of the day. Because night-time noise is another of these evils that accompany itinerant merchants. Everywhere, the loudspeakers that broadcast "chaâbi", rai, rap songs, the "chebs" and "chebbates" create unbearable noise pollution. Let us not speak of the beggars who, by the dozens, occupy the pavements and the surroundings of shops, bakeries, and butcher shops during this period of Ramadan.

On the other hand, it must be pointed out that almost all pavements and spaces for pedestrians are cluttered with tables and chairs from cafes, by cars, or simply annexed as if they were part of the commercial premises. Some people no longer hesitate to take over the public domain and abusively occupy the pavements, in principle reserved for pedestrians, especially on Jamiae Al Arabia and Mohammed V boulevards, El Hansali square, or Zerktouni avenue... It is total anarchy. Is it not time for the services concerned and especially the provincial and local authorities to put an end to this "siba"? Do they not know that this congestion of urban space constitutes a real threat to the safety of property and people and hinders free movement on the public highway and pavements? Admittedly, these itinerant merchants and these "ferrachas", who are generally young, have no other alternative than to practise this "wild" activity to survive. But that does not mean that we should let anything happen and that we should not take the necessary measures to solve this problem. It is also necessary to impose rigorous and severe rules regarding the display of goods to free up these pavements squatted by these shopkeepers and cafe owners.

It is therefore time to find adequate solutions and apply the law if we want to improve the quality of life in El-Jadida instead of opting for temporary solutions. The policy of laissez-faire sounds like an admission of powerlessness on the part of the public authorities.

A few days ago, a sit-in protest by traders of the Allal El Kasmi market, El Hansali square, and Zerktouni avenue took place in front of the prefecture and the second district. The demonstrators were protesting against the anarchic trade of the "ferrachas" who block all passages. On many occasions, promises have been made by the authorities. Unfortunately, these have not been kept, despite months of waiting. Consequently, the traders have had enough given the laxity of the authorities and their inability to find definitive solutions.