Overview
- Hundreds of people took to the streets of Tunis on Thursday, protesting power cuts, drinking-water shortages and calling for President Kais Saied to step down.
- The protests were organized by the newly formed Nafas movement, which launched in May to unite parties and independents against Saied’s rule.
- Record electricity demand during the summer heat wave forced the state utility STEG to introduce rotating outages that disrupted water pumping and bottled-water production.
- Rights groups say the rallies link everyday hardships to a five-year pattern of Saied’s concentration of power and a crackdown on opponents, while the president says he is enforcing anti-corruption laws.
- FTDES reported hundreds of local demonstrations over utilities in recent weeks, a trend that is widening the anti-Saied constituency and could increase pressure on the government without signaling an immediate political transition.