Thousands of people marched through central Tunis on Saturday, 17 October, in what sources describe as the largest protest against President Kais Saied in years. The Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) led the march alongside civil society groups and opposition parties from across the political spectrum. AFP reported that more than 3,000 people joined, though that figure could not be independently confirmed. Protesters gathered on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, a central thoroughfare in the capital, while hundreds of police were deployed and several nearby roads were closed. The crowd included lawyers, doctors, journalists and unemployed people, as well as activists and party members.
The rally brought together political rivals whose long-running divisions had weakened their ability to challenge Saied's rule. Protesters demanded the release of jailed critics of the president and an end to restrictions on trade union rights. Placards read "No democracy without freedoms" and "No dignity with poverty", and some marchers revived a 2011 slogan calling for the government to go. Other demonstrators carried signs about unemployment and pollution. Salah Eddine Salmi, the UGTT's leader, spoke against power being gathered in the presidency and warned that "silence will no longer be acceptable". The avenue was also a focal point of the 2011 uprising that helped fuel the Arab Spring.
Frustration over the rising cost of basic goods and falling purchasing power ran alongside the political demands. Tunisia has faced prolonged economic difficulties, weaker public services, recurring water and electricity cuts, and shortages of medicines and other essentials. Demonstrator Yassine Gharseli travelled from Sfax, roughly 250 km south of Tunis, to join the march. Repeated breakdowns in essential services, he said, had made him increasingly angry at those in charge. At the demonstration he told Reuters that he was determined to keep speaking out.
“I came from Sfax to stand up for my freedom”
Saied took full powers on 25 July 2021, a move the opposition has labelled a coup. In the same year he dissolved parliament, dismissed dozens of judges and began governing by decree. Human rights organisations accuse him of intensifying a crackdown on civil society, journalists and political opponents. Saied rejects the accusations, insists he is not a dictator and blames his rivals for deliberately provoking economic crises to stir social unrest. Saturday's march followed earlier demonstrations over similar grievances.
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Hundreds of police were deployed as the march moved along Habib Bourguiba Avenue, where protesters demanded the release of detained critics and an end to restrictions on unions.
AI text based on reports by Al Jazeera Online, SAPO, Spiegel Online and other publishers. Published .