A general strike and tens of thousands of protesters have brought the southern Tunisian city of Gabes to a standstill as anger intensifies over a state-run chemical plant that residents blame for a pollution crisis.
Shops, markets, schools, and cafes shut down in the general strike, halting economic activity in coastal Gabes on Tuesday in response to a call by the powerful UGTT labour union.
Crowds held up banners condemning the environmental pollution that has been caused by the CGT phosphate plant for years and that critics say now threatens the health of thousands of residents.
Protesters marched through the city chanting slogans such as “Gabes wants to live” and “dismantle the polluting units”.
“Everything is closed in Gabes,” said Saoussen Nouisser, the local representative of UGTT. “We’re all angry at the catastrophic environmental situation in our marginalised city.”
Gabes, home to nearly 400,000 people, has seen thousands take to the streets in recent weeks, demanding the immediate shutdown of the plant.
The unrest has grown into one of the biggest tests facing President Kais Saied since he seized extraordinary powers in 2021.
Saied has described the situation as an “environmental assassination” while blaming past administrations for widespread cancer and respiratory illness and the destruction of local ecosystems.
United Arab Emirates Dirham Exchange Rate
