The demonstrators gathered on Saturday in Tunis, at the call of the coalition of the opposition parties, accuse the President of the Republic, who arranged full powers in the summer of 2021, of being responsible for the shortages and strong inflation.
Le Monde with AFP
Anger rumbles against the background of large shortages and high inflation. Thousands of Tunisians demonstrated on Saturday October 15 in Tunis to denounce the policies of the President of the Republic, Kaïs Saïed, in power since 2019, that they accuse of being responsible for the serious economic crisis that affects the country.
led by the National Salvation Front, a coalition formed by the opposition parties, including the Islamist party Ennahdha, the demonstrators crossed the main streets of the Tunisian capital, calling for the departure of the president. “Go, go”, “revolt against Kaïs the dictator”, “The people want to dismiss the president”, chanted the protesters.
demonstrations in the city center against President Kaïs Saïed and the monopoly of powers. By the way near the tram… https://t.co/awmanvt5r7
Inflation has reached almost 9 % over a year
Tunisia, strangled by a debt greater than 100 % of its GDP and unable to borrow on international markets, is currently in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a loan of around 2 billion dollars (2 billion D ‘euros).
This financial crisis has resulted in recent months by recurrent shortages of basic products (flour, sugar, coffee, for example) in a context of galloping inflation, while the latter reached almost 9 % in August, over a year.
The country’s difficulties, in economic tumble for ten years, have been amplified by the COVVI-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine, which adds imports of cereals and hydrocarbons, of which it is very dependent.
Foyer of the triggering of the Arab Spring in 2011, Tunisia has also been stuck in a serious political crisis since the president’s coup, Kaïs Saïed, who seized full powers in July 2021 and which carried a reform Constitutional to strengthen them, adopted without fervor by referendum in the summer of 2022.
“This demonstration reflects anger at the situation in Tunisia under Kaïs Saïed and calls for his departure,” AFP) told former Prime Minister Ali Larayedh, vice-president of Ennahdha. “If the current political power persists, there is no future for Tunisia. Poverty, unemployment and despair are up,” he added.
At the same time, another demonstration against the degradation of living conditions also took place on Saturday in Tunis, organized by the Destourien Libre Party (PDL), an anti-Islamist opposition formation. Participants in this event have brandished empty baskets with reference to the sharp drop in purchasing power.
About 1,500 people took part in the demonstration organized by the National Salvation Front, while the one led by the PDL brought together nearly 1,000 demonstrators, the Tunisian Interior Ministry told AFP.
Strong fuel supply disturbances
The country has also experienced strong disturbances in fuel distribution for several weeks. Files, reaching hundreds of meters long, trained Thursday in front of several tunis service stations, AFP journalists have noted Thursday
The supply of stations continues “in a normal way”, however, said the authorities, imputing the disturbances to a “rush” of motorists who unusually fill their tanks.
“It is true that there are problems of supply by boat … But the product is available,” said the Minister of Energy, Neila Nouira Gongi, evoking “financial difficulties” of public companies To pay fuel imports. “Before, the suppliers gave us a month or two to pay our invoices, this is no longer the case today. Suppliers do not unload their cargo until the previous ones have been paid,” She explained.