Thousands rally in Tunisia’s biggest protest in years

More than 3,000 people marched on Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, AFP reported, though the total could not be independently confirmed. UGTT, opposition parties and civil society marched together while hundreds of police deployed and several surrounding roads closed. Protesters revived a slogan from the 2011 uprising demanding the government's removal and carried placards reading "No democracy without freedoms" and "No dignity with poverty." Salah Eddine Salmi addressed the rally criticizing concentration of power and said "silence will no longer be acceptable." Yassine Gharseli, who traveled about 250km from Sfax, told Reuters at the demonstration, "I came from Sfax to stand up for my freedom." The march followed an Aug. 20 protest over rising prices and shortages and a two-day fuel transport workers' strike last month over wages and conditions. In 2021 Saied suspended parliament and dismissed the government; a 2022 constitution increased presidential powers. CONTESTED: No competing claims appear in the record on turnout, quotes, or the events described.