March comes after ‘Gen Z’ anti-government protesters reject President Andry Rajoelina’s attempts to defuse tensions.

At least 1,000 anti-government protesters have marched in Madagascar’s capital to demand that the president resign, as police used tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds.

The demonstration on Thursday comes in the third week of the most significant unrest to hit the Indian Ocean island nation in years.

Organised by “Gen Z Madagascar”, which describes itself as a “peaceful, civic movement”, the protests were first sparked by frustration over water and power cuts but soon expanded to include anger over allegations of corruption and nepotism.

The rally on Thursday came after protest organisers called for a general strike and rejected President Andry Rajoelina’s attempts to defuse the tensions rocking the country.

Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at some of the demonstrators, who responded by throwing stones.

Tear gas fired near a maternity ward forced nursing staff to move premature babies to the back of the building, the AFP news agency reported.

At least four people were injured by rubber bullets and two by projectiles from stun grenades, according to AFP, citing two of its reporters on the scene and two local medical organisations.

The protests, which began on September 25, led to President Andry Rajoelina, 51, firing his entire cabinet. Earlier this week, he appointed Ruphin Fortunat Zafisambo, a military general, as prime minister.

Rajoelina has ignored protesters’ calls for his resignation, accusing those calling for him to step down of wanting to “destroy our country”. Protesters rejected an invitation on Wednesday to meet with Rajoelina.

Rajoelina came to power in a 2009 military coup, having himself campaigned for reform. He briefly stepped down in 2014 but was elected in 2018.

‘Problem is the system’

Only about a third of Madagascar’s 30 million people have access to electricity, according to the International Monetary Fund. Daily power cuts often exceed eight hours, and Jirama, the state energy company, has been accused of corruption and mismanagement, fuelling public anger.

Despite rich natural resources, nearly three-quarters of Madagascar’s population of 32 million lived below the poverty line in 2022, according to World Bank figures.

The Indian Ocean island’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP) fell from $812 in 1960 to $461 in 2025, according to the World Bank.

“We’re still struggling,” Heritiana Rafanomezantsoa, one of the marchers in Antananarivo, told AFP on Thusday.

“The problem is the system. Our lives haven’t improved since we gained independence from France.”

The country gained full independence from France in 1960.

Though the protests started peacefully on their first day on September 25, they turned chaotic as unrest spread through Antananarivo after police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators. The United Nations has said that at least 22 people have been killed since protests began, either by security forces or by violence in the wake of demonstrations. Rajoelina disputed that figure on Wednesday.

Twenty-eight protesters have been referred to the prosecutor’s office for formal charges, their lawyers said on Wednesday.