Anti-government protests have taken place in numerous suburbs of Tunis, Tunisia’s capital. Marchers chastised President Kais Saied’s administration for failing to address inflation and rising food costs.
Why this is happening
The protesters were enraged by the suicide of a local guy who had supposedly been harassed by police for selling fruit illegally. Tunisia is battling to resurrect its public finances as discontent increases over roughly 9% inflation and a shortage of numerous food goods in stores due to the country’s inability to pay for some imports.
The North African country has also been in the grip of a severe political turmoil since Saied seized executive power last year and dismissed parliament in what his opponents labelled a coup.
The situation in the country
Food shortages are intensifying in Tunisia, with empty shelves in supermarkets and bakeries adding to the public’s dissatisfaction with high pricing, with many Tunisians spending hours searching for sugar, milk, butter, cooking oil, and rice.
Tunisia, which is experiencing its greatest financial crisis, is attempting to acquire an International Monetary Fund loan in order to save the country’s public finances from collapse.
For the first time in 12 years, the government raised the price of cooking gas cylinders by 14% this month. It also raised fuel prices for the fourth time this year as part of a policy adjustment demanded by the IMF to cut energy subsidies.