Tunisia: Thousands of people marched through the streets of the southern coastal city of Gabes, intensifying a week-long wave of protests over severe pollution linked to the state-run Chemical Group of Tunisia’s (CGT) phosphate processing complex.
The demonstrations, among the largest the region has seen in years, have added to the mounting pressure on President Kais Saied’s government, already struggling with a deep financial crisis and public anger over deteriorating living conditions.
Protesters chanted ‘We want to live’ and ‘Gabes is crying out for help’ as they marched towards Chatt Essalam, a coastal suburb north of the city where the CGT complex is located. Witnesses said police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators who attempted to approach the plant’s main gates.
The unrest has also spread to the capital, Tunis, where crowds gathered in solidarity with Gabes residents, demanding immediate government action to address what they describe as an unfolding environmental disaster.
Residents say decades of industrial pollution have poisoned the air and sea, leading to rising cases of respiratory illnesses, osteoporosis, and cancer. Anger boiled over earlier this month after dozens of schoolchildren were hospitalized with breathing difficulties following a release of toxic fumes from one of the factory’s fertilizer units.
President Saied has acknowledged the crisis, calling the situation in Gabes an ‘environmental assassination’ and blaming past administrations for neglect and mismanagement. He urged ministries to repair faulty units and prevent further leaks, but stopped short of ordering a shutdown of the complex.
Protesters, however, reject temporary measures and are demanding the permanent closure and relocation of the phosphate and fertilizer facilities away from residential and coastal areas.
Environmental groups warn that tons of industrial waste are dumped into the sea at Chatt Essalam every day, devastating marine ecosystems. Local fishermen report a sharp decline in fish stocks over the past decade, threatening livelihoods in a region heavily dependent on fishing.
