Tunisian Parties Call For Dissolution of Parliament, Withdrawal of Confidence from Speaker

President Kais Saeid meets with his South Korea's Interior minister on Tuesday. (dpa)
President Kais Saeid meets with his South Korea's Interior minister on Tuesday. (dpa)
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Tunisian Parties Call For Dissolution of Parliament, Withdrawal of Confidence from Speaker

President Kais Saeid meets with his South Korea's Interior minister on Tuesday. (dpa)
President Kais Saeid meets with his South Korea's Interior minister on Tuesday. (dpa)

The Free Destourian Party urged President Kais Saeid to take urgent action to dissolve the parliament and call on lawmakers to sign a petition to withdraw confidence from Speaker Rached Ghannouchi.

On Monday, the parliament office announced that the parliament was going to hold its plenary sessions, in defiance of Saeid's suspension of the legislature.

The parliament said it wanted to meet to address the serious financial, economic, and social crisis in the country.

Head of the Free Destourian Party Abir Moussi said the petition needs the approval of 109 deputies to dissolve parliament and call for early legislative elections.

She added lawmakers would not reject Saeid's invitation if he took a step toward dismissing Ghannouchi, dissolving parliament, and holding the elections.

Moussi filed a judicial complaint to invalidate the decisions of the frozen parliament and stop the plenary sessions scheduled to begin Wednesday.

She warned that going ahead with the meetings would mark a dangerous precedent in the country given the president's order to suspend parliament in July last year.

Saeid had criticized Ghannouchi's call for parliament to convene. Speaking a National Security Council meeting, he stressed that the law must be respected, noting that "the so-called 'virtual meeting' is illegal because the assembly is frozen."

"The State will only recover through an independent judiciary, which is being challenged by those who desperately trying to stage a coup," charged the president.

Saeid stressed that the Tunisian state is not a "puppet" to be toyed with by national and foreign entities.

He warned against attempts to convene the suspended parliament, saying the state's forces and institutions will confront those who want to tamper with the state and push Tunisians to conflict.



France Cools Expectations of Swift Palestinian State Recognition

 France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech during the inauguration of the Choiseul Library as the first site labeled "Heritage of Diplomacy" ("Patrimoine de la Diplomacie") in Versailles, near Paris on June 5, 2025. (AFP)
France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech during the inauguration of the Choiseul Library as the first site labeled "Heritage of Diplomacy" ("Patrimoine de la Diplomacie") in Versailles, near Paris on June 5, 2025. (AFP)
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France Cools Expectations of Swift Palestinian State Recognition

 France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech during the inauguration of the Choiseul Library as the first site labeled "Heritage of Diplomacy" ("Patrimoine de la Diplomacie") in Versailles, near Paris on June 5, 2025. (AFP)
France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech during the inauguration of the Choiseul Library as the first site labeled "Heritage of Diplomacy" ("Patrimoine de la Diplomacie") in Versailles, near Paris on June 5, 2025. (AFP)

France on Friday dampened expectations Paris could rapidly recognize a Palestinian state, with the French foreign minister saying while it was "determined" to make such a move, recognition had to be more than "symbolic".

France is due later this month to co-host with Saudi Arabia a UN conference in New York on a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

There had been expectations that France could recognize a Palestinian state during that conference, with President Emmanuel Macron also growing increasingly frustrated with Israel's blocking of aid to the Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

"France could have taken a symbolic decision. But this is not the choice we made because we have a particular responsibility" as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said, while saying Paris was still "determined" to make the move.

Several EU countries including Ireland, Spain and Sweden recognize a Palestinian state. But Germany, while backing a two-state solution, has said recognition now would send the "wrong signal".

France is reportedly working closely on the issue with the United Kingdom, which also so far has not recognized a Palestinian state, at a time when French-British diplomatic ties are becoming increasingly tight after Brexit.

Macron on Thursday said that he expected the conference in New York would take steps "towards recognizing Palestine", without being more specific.

He has said he hopes French recognition of a Palestinian state would encourage other governments to do the same and that countries who do not recognize Israel should do so.

Barrot meanwhile also stressed the "absolute necessity" to address the issue of the disarmament of Palestinian group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.

Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Militants abducted 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive in Hamas-run Gaza has killed 54,677 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry there, figures the United Nations deems reliable.

Relations between Israel and France have deteriorated over the last weeks, with Israel's foreign ministry accusing Macron of undertaking a "crusade against the Jewish state" after he called on European countries to harden their stance if the humanitarian situation in Gaza did not improve.