Hundreds of Tunisians took to the streets of the capital Tunis on Saturday to denounce a deepening environmental crisis in the southern coastal city of Gabes, where pollution from a state-owned chemical plant has sparked growing outrage.
The demonstrations mark the most significant show of dissent since President Kais Saied consolidated power in 2021, underscoring public frustration over worsening pollution, deteriorating public services, and what protesters describe as years of government neglect.
Gabes residents have long blamed the state chemical group’s phosphate factories for releasing toxic gases and dumping thousands of tonnes of industrial waste into the Mediterranean, contaminating air and water. Locals say the pollution has been linked to rising cases of respiratory illness, osteoporosis, and cancer.
The latest protests erupted earlier this month after dozens of schoolchildren suffered breathing problems caused by fumes from a plant that produces phosphoric acid and fertilisers. In Tunis, protesters carried placards reading “Gabes wants to breathe” and accused the authorities of repression after several arrests.
“It’s that simple, the people of Gabes want to breathe,” said Hani Faraj, an activist with the Stop Pollution campaign. “Gabes is dying slowly. We will not remain silent.”
President Saied has described the situation as an “environmental assassination,” blaming poor policy decisions by previous governments. His administration has ordered urgent repairs to prevent further leaks and announced plans to build a cancer hospital in Gabes.
Environmentalists and local residents have dismissed these measures as cosmetic. They are demanding the complete closure and relocation of the phosphate plants, which they say are destroying marine life at Chatt Essalam and devastating the livelihoods of fishermen who have seen fish stocks collapse over the past decade.
