Description: Following last week’s environmental protests in the city of Gabes, Tunisians have completely locked the city through a general strike, demanding the closure of the phosphate factory operated by the state – owned Tunisian Chemical Group or CTG. Environmental protests unfolded last week in large numbers, where protesters clashed with police forces who threw tear gas to disburse the larger groups. The protesters are demanding the government to undertake serious steps and stop the environmental disaster in the city which has caused numerous fatal illnesses, destroyed the marine life and increased pollution to unimaginable levels. The environmental protests in Gabes were only the last in a line of anti – government protests which ranged from demanding civil freedoms to improving the ailing economic conditions in the country. President Kais Saied, denounced the responsibility for the factory and blamed it on previous administrations which he stated caused environmental genocide in the country.
Impact: In contrast of last week’s protests, the civil movement in Gabes has taken a more aggressive stance towards the government and locked the city into a general strike. Tunisian President Saied has obviously attempted to shift blame instead of addressing the issue head on while he is also pressured by a gradual increase of civil unrest across the country which strongly disapproves his domestic policies, especially regarding the economy. The general strike would be only the beginning of a larger civil movement which would be constituted by the various civil groups affected by the President’s lack of policy on the domestic front. Tunisia’s government has also remained quiet regarding CTG’s activities in Gabes which have evidently caused deadly consequences to the residents and the entire environment. The protests would only enlarge towards a larger civil movement which could ultimately transpire towards a political crisis in the country.