Thousands poured into the streets of Tunisia’s capital on Saturday in a mass protest demanding the restoration of democracy and freedoms, reflecting growing anger over President Kais Saied's policies amid accusations that he has failed miserably to tackle the worsening economic crisis.
The protest, led by the powerful Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) and influential organizations including the Human Rights League, the Bar Association and the Journalists' Union, was the largest of its kind in several years. It marked a significant challenge to Saied after years of divisions that had weakened his opponents' ability to mobilize supporters.
In a rare show of unity, opposition parties from across the political spectrum, including groups that had been at odds for years, joined lawyers, doctors, journalists, unemployed people and civil society organizations in the protest.
Demonstrators gathered in Mohamed Ali Square, the headquarters of the UGTT, before marching through Tunis toward Habib Bourguiba Avenue, a focal point of the demonstrations that sparked the Arab Spring 15 years ago.
Hundreds of police officers were deployed across the capital's streets and neighborhoods, many of which were closed off. The protest was held under the slogan "Tunisia First... The People Above All Else," with demonstrators waving Tunisian flags.
"Tunisia's crisis today is fundamentally the result of one person monopolizing all powers," UGTT Secretary-General Slah Eddine Salmi told the crowds.
According to Reuters, protesters chanted demands for freedoms, judicial independence, an end to the prosecution of political opponents and an end to infringements on trade union rights.
They also carried banners and chanted slogans expressing growing frustration over widespread unemployment, poor public services and what they described as false promises.
"There is no democracy without freedoms,There is no dignity in poverty," and "No to criminalizing civil and political activity," read some of the slogans.
The demonstrators also chanted in unison: "O failed regime... Departure is the only solution."
"Enough is enough! The country is collapsing. We suffer from power and water cuts, and one crisis after another," said Yassine Gharseli, a protester from Sfax, about 250 km south of Tunis.
"I came from Sfax to stand up for my freedom and I'm not about to give up, even if I become the last voice in the country."
Boubaker Ben Thabet, head of Tunisia's National Bar Association, said civil society groups were "uniting today to defend citizens' right to live in dignity and work freely, as guaranteed by international conventions and the constitution."
Protesters also chanted angrily: "No fear, no terror... The streets belong to the people," and "Freedoms! The police state is over."
They revived one of the most prominent slogans of Tunisia's revolution, which later echoed across countries in the region: "The people want the fall of the regime."
Demonstrators also chanted slogans condemning the Interior Ministry and the government's performance, describing it as a "government of failure" and demanding its departure.
The protest comes amid a worsening economic crisis and a sharp deterioration in public services, including repeated water and electricity outages and shortages of medicines and some basic goods.
The march also coincides with mounting demonstrations by unemployed people demanding jobs and faster implementation of a law passed a year ago allowing the employment of people who have been out of work for more than a decade.
Meanwhile, opposition groups are demanding the release of dozens of political figures opposed to Saied's rule who have been imprisoned for more than three years.
Local and international human rights organizations accuse Saied of intensifying a crackdown on civil society groups and imprisoning journalists and opposition leaders, saying he has turned the country into an open-air prison.
Saied, however, rejects accusations of authoritarianism and repression, saying he is not a dictator and remains determined to purge the country of those he describes as traitors, corrupt figures and conspirators.
He also accuses his opponents of manufacturing economic crises to fuel social unrest and destabilize the country from within.
In 2021, Saied consolidated control over most state powers, later dissolving the elected parliament, beginning to rule by decree, disbanding the judicial council and dismissing dozens of judges in moves his critics described as a coup.
