Antigovernment protesters take to Tunisia’s streets for second month

Tunisia has seen an uptick in protests as economic conditions in the country have deteriorated.Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets of Tunisia’s capital to call for the ousting of President Kais Saied and the restoration of democracy.Protesters in Tunis said on Thursday that they reject “one-man rule” and “a slide towards dictatorship”, and urged the release of jailed opposition figures, activists and journalists.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Tunisia’s body politic is in crisislist 2 of 3Tunisian wildfires expose failing infrastructure, community vulnerabilitieslist 3 of 3Beneath Tunisia’s silence, public anger simmersend of listThursday’s protest follows a similar one on July 25, which was scheduled to coincide with the anniversary of President Saied’s 2021 dismissal of the government and suspension of parliament. He began ruling by decree later that year and dissolved parliament in 2022.One demonstrator at Thursday’s march, activist Wissem Sghaier, said the country is “experiencing a complete collapse”, the Reuters news agency reported.Tunisians are facing mounting economic and cost-of-living pressures, ⁠with deteriorating public services and shortages of some basic goods and medicines.Tunisia’s inflation rate currently sits at 5.2 percent, according to the World Bank. Investment in the country has fallen precipitously, and Saied’s government has introduced a series of cost-saving measures, including halting public sector hiring and reducing imports.Protests have broken out in several parts of the country in recent weeks over water and power cuts and environmental problems, suggesting that public anger is spreading beyond political disputes with Saied to the mounting hardships of everyday life. The country was also one of a number of North African countries to be hit by major wildfires this summer.