In the summer of 2025, Mohammed VI is 62 years old. Two scenes summarize the moment: in Tétouan (Aïd), he appears tired, while off the coast of Cabo Negro, he is riding a jet-ski. The images reassure about the continuity, but confirm a rarer tempo. Meanwhile, the State is advancing on its major projects such as education, health, and energy. Additionally, diplomacy remains focused on the Sahara, which is at the heart of the royal line.
News 2025: contrasting images, orderly end of cycle
The year 2025 is marked by a contrast.
On June 7, during Aïd el-Adha in Tétouan, the King of Morocco Mohammed VI, seated and pale, causes concern. Two weeks later, he reappears at sea, on a jet-ski in Cabo Negro. The message is clear: continuity at the top, a presence that is certainly more economical, but still decisive.
The calendar remains ritualized: Throne Day (July 30), Revolution of the King and the People (August 20), and targeted visits (northern coast, post-earthquake reconstruction sites, hospitals, schools). The power chooses few words, many images.
In the background, an orderly end of cycle is taking shape. It is not a vacancy of power, but a tempo adjustment: rare sequences, highly controlled visual signals, and landmark speeches that set the agenda. The summers in the North play a role of political theater: mingling with crowds, brief greetings, reminders of the direct link with the population. This image grammar reassures and simultaneously prepares the transition.
Power architecture: royal arbiter and "project governance"
The scheme is clear.
- The monarchy sets the directions: security, diplomacy, major economic choices, worship (commander of the faithful).
- The techno-security apparatus (intelligence, walis, governors) ensures stability and execution.
- Agencies and operators (ports, rail, energy, industrial zones) carry out project governance.
This mode of action allows for speed (Tanger Med, LGV Al Boraq, solar and wind), but fuels a debate on transparency, accountability, and the role of Parliament in evaluation.
Since the advanced regionalization (implemented in the 2010s), the regions have budgets and expanded competencies. In practice, the walis and governors coordinate between state services, municipalities, and operators. The courts of accounts and general inspections are beginning to evaluate these policies, but the feedback remains uneven across territories. Hence a central issue: measuring the real impact of projects on income, employment, and the quality of services.
Parties and government: from the PJD to the current majority
After 2011, the PJD led the government under the new Constitution. Since 2021, a RNI–PAM–Istiqlal coalition has been leading public policy.
The line is pragmatic: expanded social state, welcoming investment, accelerating projects. The parties compete less on ideologies than on the ability to execute the roadmap. The royal impetus remains the compass.
Regarding the legislative, several structuring texts accompany this guideline. They include the business climate and a rethought investment charter. Additionally, the digitization of services such as administrative procedures and online payment is encouraged. Finally, there is a progressive generalization of social protection. The Parliament debates, but the evaluation of execution on the ground needs strengthening: hearings multiply without always transforming the implementation.
Economy and social: real progress, persistent fractures
Since 1999, the economy has grown on average 4–5%. Ports (Tanger Med), automobile, aeronautics, and services drive growth, while agriculture remains dependent on rain. The HDI rises from about 0.515 (1999) to 0.710 (2023), the threshold of countries with high human development.
The State deploys a visible social state: expanded social protection, "pioneer" schools, new hospitals and university hospitals. On water and climate: desalination, reuse, interconnections of dams. In energy, consolidation of solar and wind, exploration of hydrogen.
But three fractures persist: overqualified young people underemployed, interior territories lagging behind, quality of public services. The key becomes local execution and measurement of results.
On the productive side, three engines stand out:
- automobile (ecosystems around Tanger and Kénitra),
- aeronautics (Casablanca-Nouaceur),
- logistics (port and inland zones).
Tourism regains momentum after the Covid years. Agriculture is transforming thanks to precision irrigation, notably drip irrigation. Additionally, export sectors like citrus, red fruits, and olives are developing. However, it struggles with drought.
On the inclusion side, the rise of mobile payments and microcredit opens doors for SMEs and female employment. After the 2023 earthquake, a multi-year program aims at reconstruction and prevention (schools, clinics, housing), with a focus on seismic resilience.
The essential remains: quality of schools and accessible healthcare everywhere. Without supported teachers, without doctors present in the hinterland, the promise of equality remains incomplete.
Public freedoms: tensions and gestures of appeasement
The framework of freedoms oscillates.
Trials of journalists and activists fuel criticism and self-censorship. In response, the Palace signed two significant pardons in 2024: releases of journalists and activists, then more than 4,800 farmers from the Rif (therapeutic cannabis). NGOs call for a lasting normalization of the media field and a penal reform clarifying opinion offenses.
The digital has changed the game: online press, social networks, and citizen videos stir the public space. The power tolerates debate zones but sanctions when it deems security or defamation at stake. Hence the recurring demand for a penal reform that secures expression and better defines the red lines.
Diplomacy: multivectorial, centered on the Sahara
The Western Sahara is the compass. Rabat proposes autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. The American recognition (2020) and the normalization with Israel fit into this logic.
In Africa, Morocco has rejoined the African Union (2017) and spreads its companies (banks, telecoms, fertilizers). With France, after some frictions, the agendas are realigned. With Algeria, the border remains closed, the signals remain symbolic (speeches of "outstretched hand"), without breakthrough.
Moroccan diplomacy articulates three levers:
- Economic (industrial zones, energy interconnections, African value chains),
- Religious (promotion of a moderate Islam, training of imams),
- Migratory (cooperations with the EU and African countries).
Objective: stabilize the neighborhood, secure supplies, and anchor the Moroccan position in West Africa.
Health of Mohammed VI: sober communication, continuity of arbitration
Since 2018, the health of Mohammed VI has fueled rumors and comments: cardiac interventions, sarcoidosis, weight loss in 2021, cane during some audiences. The sequences of 2025 mix fatigue and vigor, while the illness of the King of Morocco fuels rumors and denials. The communication remains minimal, but the royal arbitration continues to pace public action through speeches and decisions that are closely followed.
The management of royal time adapts: more written arbitrations, very visible short sequences, and an increased presence of the crown prince in certain ceremonies. The arrangement aims to preserve the symbolism while ensuring the continuity.
The king and the Moroccan royal family: patient capital, demands for clarity
The holdings Siger and Al Mada irrigate banking, distribution, industry, energy, and telecoms. Fortune estimates circulate (several billion euros), and the budget of the Royal Household fuels a regular debate. Supporters speak of a useful patient capital for investments, others demand more publication and parliamentary control.
The royal lifestyle (palaces, residences, yachts) returns to the spotlight, especially in summer. The king, an art and sea enthusiast, divides his stays between Rabat, imperial cities, and the North.
Beyond the entrepreneurial aspect, the royal foundations play a crucial role. Notably, the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity conducts various social actions. These actions include support for vulnerable populations, organizing medical campaigns, and training. They are part of the initiatives of the Moroccan royal family. They strengthen the monarchy’s social anchoring, while raising the question of coordination with the ministries.
Succession and stability: Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan in training
The Prince of Morocco Moulay El Hassan (born May 8, 2003), heir, has been of age since 2021. Very present in ceremonies and missions, he embodies continuity. The Constitution provides for a regency if needed. The central hypothesis remains that of an orderly transition.
His training is practical: management of protocols, public speaking, economic and climate issues. Educated at the Royal College, he evolves in a multilingual and diplomatic environment. The intended message is clear: continuity without rupture, modernity without taboo on the heritage.
Assessment of a reign (1999-2025)
Achievements:
- Memorial reconciliation (IER) and Moudawana (2004) expanding women’s rights.
- Major infrastructures (Tanger Med, LGV, highways) and a strong rise in renewables.
- Return to the African Union and South-South strategy.
- HDI on the rise, social protection expanding, high execution capacity.
Points of vigilance:
- Public freedoms and media pluralism: need for lasting guarantees.
- Territorial inequalities and youth employment: necessity of an educational and productive shock.
- Economic governance: clarify the public/private boundary, strengthen evaluation.
- Neighborhood and Sahara: tense environment dependent on external balances.
What is at stake now
Three priorities emerge:
- Consolidate institutions and open up the public space further.
- Distribute the fruits of growth better through truly universal education and healthcare.
- Clarify the rules of political economy: the role of the monarchy in business, control of agencies, budgetary transparency.
In the background, three tests will determine the future:
- the measurable reduction of territorial inequalities (access to healthcare, educational outcomes),
- the creation of qualified jobs outside major hubs,
- citizen confidence, fueled by public discourse and the predictability of rules.
It is by this measure that the end and then the transmission of a reign that has profoundly reconfigured the State will be written.