More than three thousand people demonstrated today, Saturday (October 17, 2026), in Tunisia to protest the high cost of living and to demand respect for freedoms, in response to a call launched by organizations including the Tunisian General Labor Union and opposition parties.
Demonstrators carried signs, some of which read: “No democracy without freedoms,” “No dignity with poverty,” and “No to criminalizing civil and political work.”
Experts believe that the demonstration reflects growing anger at the policies of President Kais Saied, amid accusations that he is imposing “tyrannical rule” and failing miserably to address the worsening economic crisis.
The demonstration procession proceeded in the center of the capital under strict security measures, as the police closed several entrances to cars and pedestrians.
Today's protest is the largest of its kind in several years and constitutes a strong challenge to Saied after years that witnessed divisions that weakened his opponents' ability to mobilize.
In a rare scene of unity, opposition parties from across the political spectrum, including parties that have witnessed rivalries for years, joined lawyers, doctors, journalists, the unemployed, and civil society organizations in the protest.
The demonstrators gathered in Mohammed Ali Square, the stronghold of the Labor Union, before they roamed the streets of the capital towards Habib Bourguiba Street, a focal point in the demonstrations that sparked the Arab Spring 15 years ago.
"The right to live in dignity"
The protesters raised the slogan, “Tunisia first...the people above all else,” and the demonstrators waved Tunisian flags. Salah al-Din al-Salmi, Secretary-General of the Labor Union, said in a speech to the crowds, “Silence is no longer acceptable. Tunisia’s crisis today is essentially the monopolization of all powers by one person.”
Opposition Sihem Ben Sedrine, former head of the Truth and Dignity Commission, told AFP, “We demand respect for basic freedoms, and in particular the release of political prisoners.”
Karim Al Majri, a 32-year-old employee, stated that he was "suffocated by injustice, oppression, and the high cost of living." In turn, Maysaa Batikh, a 21-year-old demonstrator who studies dentistry, said, “We have the right to live in dignity. The current policy is unable to reassure the youth, and corruption hinders everything.”
The protest comes in the midst of a worsening economic crisis and a sharp deterioration in public services, including frequent water and electricity outages and shortages of medicines and some basic goods.
Local and international human rights organizations accuse President Kais Saied of launching an escalating campaign of repression against civil society organizations, and throwing journalists and opposition leaders behind bars, accusing him of turning the country into an open prison.
But Saied rejects the accusations of tyranny and oppression, and says that he is not a dictator and that he is continuing to cleanse the country of those he describes as traitors, corrupt, and conspirators. He also accuses his opponents of creating economic crises with the aim of inflaming social conditions and igniting the country from within.
