Days of protests over crippling power and water outages have rocked Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, leaving at least five people dead and prompting President Andry Rajoelina on Friday to sack his energy minister in a bid to calm tensions.
Police have repeatedly used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds dominated by students and young workers who say daily life has become untenable amid rolling cuts that can last about 12 hours. Universities report weeks of disrupted classes, and residents say they pay taxes and go to work only to return to homes without electricity or running water.
The unrest has spilled into widespread looting across the city. Businesses assessed damage Friday morning, with some staff recounting threats from knife-wielding thieves who said they were driven by poverty. Volunteer groups and residents fanned out to clear debris, insisting most demonstrations have been peaceful while blaming security forces for failing to protect neighborhoods from criminal opportunists.
Rajoelina has denounced the turmoil as “acts of destabilization” and even a “coup d’état,” but insists his government is seeking solutions to stabilize the grid. Beyond the minister’s dismissal, authorities have imposed an overnight curfew and bolstered patrols around key sites. Protesters, however, say the response targets civilians rather than the root causes: failing infrastructure, fuel supply issues, and years of underinvestment in the state utility.
With frustration mounting and an economy already strained, organizers signaled more demonstrations in the coming days. The government has urged calm and promised further measures, but without rapid improvements to power and water services, analysts warn the crisis could widen—testing Rajoelina’s grip and deepening anger in one of the world’s poorest nations.
