Thousands gather in Tunis for largest anti‑Saied protest in years
Thousands of Tunisians took to the streets of the capital on Saturday to demonstrate against President Kais Saied, deteriorating living conditions and curbs on political freedoms. The march was organized by the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), a powerful trade‑union federation, together with opposition parties and civil‑society groups.
AFP said more than 3,000 people participated, although the figure could not be independently verified. Demonstrators walked along Habib Bourguiba Avenue, a main thoroughfare in central Tunis, while hundreds of police officers were deployed and several nearby roads were closed.
The crowd included lawyers, doctors, journalists, the unemployed, activists and members of parties spanning the political spectrum. They called for the release of detained critics of the government and an end to restrictions on trade‑union rights. Banners read “No democracy without freedoms” and “No dignity with poverty,” echoing the political and economic grievances that fueled the protest.
UGTT secretary‑general Salah Eddine Salmi addressed the rally, condemning the concentration of power in the presidency and declaring that silence would no longer be tolerated. He and other speakers also revived the chant demanding the government’s removal, a slogan popular during the 2011 uprising that toppled President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Economic frustration was a central theme of the demonstration. Tunisia has been grappling with prolonged economic hardship, deteriorating public services, frequent water and electricity outages, and shortages of medicines and other essentials. Yassine Gharseli, who traveled from Sfax about 250 km south of Tunis, told Reuters he had come to “stand up for my freedom” after repeated disruptions to basic services deepened his anger with the authorities.
The Saturday protest follows other recent actions over similar issues. On 20 August, demonstrators gathered in Tunis to protest rising prices and shortages of basic goods. Last month, fuel‑transport workers staged a two‑day strike over wages and working conditions, led by a union federation linked to the UGTT.
The demands echo the 2011 revolution that removed Ben Ali and sparked a wave of protests across the Arab world. While Tunisia subsequently held competitive elections and expanded political freedoms, high unemployment and failing public services have remained sources of discontent. Saied, who rose to power promising an alternative to the old system, suspended parliament and dismissed the government in 2021, citing corruption and political deadlock. He later dissolved parliament and oversaw a new constitution in 2022 that greatly increased presidential powers.