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Algeria Gate: Morocco wants the world to see a modern state ready to host football’s biggest event. Media reports show another picture: World Cup preparations built on urban modernization projects that leave Moroccan families facing eviction from their homes and communities.

In an investigation published by the Belgian newspaper De Standaard on August 13th 2026, hundreds of buildings were reported to have been demolished over the past year, particularly in Rabat, in the context of projects to reshape the urban space and exploit land for new projects linked, according to the investigation, to the preparations and investments accompanying the organisation of the World Cup.

Here the most embarrassing question for the Moroccan authorities arises: what image does Morocco want to display to the world in 2030 if some families are paying the price of that image with their homes and stability?

The authorities that spend and plan to complete huge facilities and tourism and urban projects are supposed to place the citizen at the heart of this process, not to make the improvement of the urban façade a priority that advances ahead of protecting the affected families and guaranteeing their rights.

The bigger problem in this issue lies in the way these transformations take place when the citizen becomes the weakest link and finds himself facing bulldozers and administrative decisions in search of an alternative to a home in which he has lived for many years.

In a country that is betting on the World Cup to present a prosperous and modern image, the paradox appears harsh: stadiums are being built to receive the world, while families fear losing their homes; hotels and investment projects expand, while citizens wonder about their fate and their place in this development.

This opens the door to broader criticism of the way priorities are managed inside Morocco. Development cannot be reduced to concrete, major projects and official images, nor can the state be considered successful merely because it is capable of building huge facilities, while pressing social and economic files remain waiting for real solutions.

If the Moroccan authorities want to turn the 2030 World Cup into a showcase for their achievements, they must first answer the questions raised by human-rights and media reports concerning the affected families: where will they live? What is the size of the compensation they have received? And were the eviction operations carried out with sufficient legal and social guarantees?

The most dangerous thing that can happen is that the World Cup turns from an opportunity to improve the lives of Moroccans into a project to improve only the image of Morocco. A state that wants to convince the world that it is modern and advanced is required to prove that first in its treatment of its own citizens, especially the most vulnerable categories.

In the end, Morocco does not need only beautiful façades in order to appear successful before the world; it needs to address the social, urban and economic imbalances that its citizens live with. If Morocco’s image in 2030 is to be built on luxurious stadiums and modern streets, the question that arises is: where is the place of the citizen in this image? And is development built for him, or is he merely asked to pay its price?

Algeria Gate: With tensions between Spain and Morocco escalating, Spanish broadcaster RTVE reports that Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez’s government is preparing an “emergency plan” that could include economic sanctions and other measures aimed at pressuring Rabat over its policies toward Spain and the wider region

According to the report, Spanish authorities are currently considering measures to deter Rabat if Morocco is found to be involved in new waves of migration.

The Spanish move follows several media and security reports alleging the involvement of Abdelatif Hammouchi’s intelligence apparatus in facilitating the passage of around 70,000 Moroccan irregular migrants toward the Spanish city of Ceuta, as well as accusations that Morocco has used migration as a tool of political pressure.

According to information circulating in Spanish media, the government is examining a comprehensive emergency plan targeting Morocco. The energy sector has reportedly been tasked with preparing a detailed assessment of possible measures to deter Rabat in the event of renewed migration crises.

Algeria Previously Cut Energy Supplies to Morocco

In 2021, Algeria moved to halt energy supplies to Morocco, prompting Rabat to rely on Spanish infrastructure to receive gas imported through the Spanish market following major changes to the region’s energy supply system.

The move came after Algeria decided not to renew the Maghreb–Europe Gas Pipeline (MEG) agreement.

The MEG pipeline previously transported Algerian natural gas through Moroccan territory to Spain. However, the deterioration of Algerian-Moroccan relations and the subsequent end of the pipeline agreement changed the flow of gas supplies.

Algeria subsequently increased deliveries to Spain through the Medgaz pipeline, which directly connects Algeria and Spain, while Morocco began relying on gas imported through Spain and transported back into Moroccan territory.

Energy Becomes a Key Pressure Point

The energy issue is particularly significant for Morocco because of the close interconnection between the Spanish and Moroccan electricity grids.

The two countries are linked by two submarine electricity cables connecting the Tarifa area in southern Spain with Morocco’s northern coast. These connections allow electricity to be exchanged between the two countries and contribute to the stability of Morocco’s power grid.

As a result, significant electricity flows can be recorded from Spain toward Morocco, making energy interdependence a potentially important factor in Madrid’s response to any future migration crisis.

Algeria Gate: Amid growing concerns in Europe over the security implications of Morocco’s migration policy, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has raised the alarm over the potential security and terrorist threats associated with the migration crisis.

The head of Italian diplomacy specifically evoked Morocco’s responsibility in a migration crisis that could, according to his warnings, take on a security and even terrorist dimension. These statements come after the massive arrival of around 60,000 irregular Moroccan migrants heading toward Ceuta, the Spanish territory located in northern Morocco.

The Ceuta crisis thus brings Rabat’s role in managing migration flows back to the center of the debate. The border around the Spanish enclave has become a point of tension whose consequences no longer concern Spain alone but are now raising concerns at the European level.

In an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Antonio Tajani dismissed the idea of any “battle” against Spain. He did, however, call on Madrid to “deal with Morocco,” estimating that “the problem comes from there,” in direct reference to Rabat.

The Italian minister also echoed concerns expressed in Spain about a possible new migratory wave. He especially raised the risk that some of the new arrivals could represent a threat to security, going so far as to declare that “the migrants who come from there could be terrorists.”

These remarks therefore give a new dimension to the migration crisis. For Rome, the issue is no longer limited to border control or the management of clandestine arrivals: it now directly touches on European security issues.

With these statements, Morocco thus finds itself at the heart of European concerns linked to clandestine immigration and the security risks that could result from it.