Thousands Take to Tunis Streets to Challenge President Kais Saied

On October 17, thousands of Tunisians gathered along Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis, marking the biggest protest against President Kais Saied in years. The rally was organized by the UGTT labour union together with a coalition of civil-society groups and opposition parties spanning the political spectrum. Hundreds of police officers were deployed to manage the crowd.

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President Saied consolidated power in 2021-2022, dissolving parliament, dismissing dozens of judges and governing largely by decree—moves opponents have described as a coup. Since then, Tunisia has faced a deepening economic crisis, frequent water and electricity outages, and shortages of medicines and essential goods. Rights groups allege that the government has intensified crackdowns on civil society, journalists and opposition figures.

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President Saied rejected the accusations of authoritarianism, asserting that he is not a dictator and blaming opposition forces for “engineering economic crises” to stir unrest. The UGTT, Tunisia’s largest trade-union federation, framed the protest as a response to the concentration of power in a single individual.

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• “Silence will ?no longer be acceptable ... the state cannot built by concentrating all powers in the hand of one person” — Slah Eddine Salmi

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• “Enough is enough! The country is collapsing. We suffer from power and water cuts, and one crisis after another,” — Yassine Gharseli, a protester from Sfax, about 250 km (155 miles) south of Tunis

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The demonstration signals a rare moment of unity among Tunisia’s fragmented opposition and presents a tangible challenge to Saied’s rule after years of limited mobilization. Continued large-scale protests could pressure the government to address the economic hardships and governance concerns highlighted by demonstrators and rights organisations.

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