Tunisia - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Tunisia cover image

Tunisia

December 5, 2025

Tunis 12:42 pm

15°C

Residents of the city of Gabes carry placards during a demonstration on Oct. 15, 2025, to demand the closure of chemical factories.

Over 200 hospitalized in Tunisia’s Gabes as anger over pollution crisis grows

President Kais Saied is facing one of his biggest challenges yet as demands for the closure of the city’s phosphate processing plant increase.

Meloni Saied

Italy’s Meloni discusses immigration, economic ties on Tunisia visit: What to know

The two countries have strengthened their ties in the past years, signing several agreements on economic, trade and energy cooperation.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 29: U.S. President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn of the White House followed by granddaughter Chloe after returning on Marine One on July 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump returned to the White House with his family after a trip to Scotland that was part vacation, part work, as he stayed at his Trump Turnberry golf course, followed by Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire, from July 25 to 29. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Analysis

Middle East braces for Trump's tariffs: Gulf gains, North Africa strains as both hedge

The tariffs could be wins for the Gulf states, as many have trade surpluses with the United States, while some in North Africa and the Levant, with trade deficits, stand to lose.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Trump tariffs, BRICS threats unlikely to erode Middle East’s trade war edge

The US decision to delay tariff penalties until Aug. 1 doesn't dramatically impact the Middle East, but the coming weeks could still have important ripple effects in the region.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

From Iraq to Algeria, Trump’s looming tariffs could target 4 MENA countries

US President Donald Trump holds up a chart while speaking during a “Make America Wealthy Again” trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025, in Washington.

Iran sends senior delegation to Algeria, Tunisia as relations warm

Algerian People's National Council

Analysis

As Saied begins new term as president, Tunisians brace for unstable governance

Tunisia's president, Kais Saied, attends his swearing-in ceremony before the National Assembly in Tunis on Oct. 21, 2024.

Francisco Serrano

By Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Analysis

Tunisia risks missing e-commerce boom as Jumia exits, startup investment lags

Inside a warehouse used by Jumia.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

A woman pays homage in front of the Notre-Dame de l'Assomption Basilica in Nice on October 30, 2020 during a tribute to the victims killed by a knife attacker the day before. - A 47-year-old man believed to have been in contact with the suspected knifeman who killed three at a church in Nice has been detained for questioning, a judicial source said on October 30, 2020. The man was detained late Thursday after the attack at the city's Notre-Dame basilica by a 21-year-old Tunisian who arrived in France on Oct

Tunisian man identified as French knife attack suspect

Brahim Aouissaoui did not say anything about a plan to kill people the day of the attack in the southern French city, his family told Arabic-language press.

Intel: Pentagon eyes partnership with Algeria amid competition with Russia, China

The United States is looking to bolster military ties with North Africa.

b_52_stratofortresses_conduct_interoperabilit (1).jpg

US B-52 bombers train with Morocco, Tunisia aircraft over Mediterranean

The destroyer USS Roosevelt simulated a hostile ship in a US show of force alongside the North African countries.

Egyptian parliament members attend a general session in the capital Cairo on July 20, 2020. - Egypt's parliament greenlighted behind a closed-doors session later today, the possible deployment of troops in Libya to support Cairo's ally Khalifa Haftar, if rival Turkish-backed forces recapture the city of Sirte, the house said. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Algeria, Tunisia on sidelines of regional diplomacy over Libya conflict

Algeria is concerned about whether Egypt will deploy force in Libya.

Tunisia PM's resignation sparks new political crisis

Prior to stepping down, Elyes Fakhfakh was under investigation for conflict of interest violations.

Why Turkey is trying to improve its profile in the Maghreb

In parallel with its military activities in Libya and rising profile in Africa, Ankara moves to strengthen its geostrategic and geo-economic ties with Maghreb countries.

DOUZ, TUNISIA: An abandoned Berber village sits in dunes in the vicinity of Zaafarane, near the southern Tunisian town of Douz, 24 December 2006 as the 39th International Sahara Festival opens. The festival, held 600 kms (370 miles) south of Tunis, draws locals and tourists for a cultural event that celebrates the region's heritage and desert people. AFP PHOTO FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Amazigh languish in underserved pockets of southeast Tunisia

Post-revolutionary Tunisia has been friendlier to its indigenous Amazigh, but the concentration of wealth and power in the north continues to marginalize the remote communities.

Tunisian rapper busted for marijuana revives debate on legalization

The arrest and pre-trial detention of a famous rapper in Tunisia for cannabis possession revived the debate over the legalization of cannabis use and calls to abolish one of the harshest laws penalizing users.

Women walk near "Souk Libya" marketplace in the town of Ben Guerdane, near the Libyan border in Tunisia May 24, 2019. Picture taken May 24, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi - RC1A9F83BA60

How Libya’s war is poisoning Tunisia’s politics

The war in neighboring Libya has further polarized Tunisia's political landscape and imperiled the country’s fragile governing coalition.

A Palestinian man walks past a mural depicting George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody, in Gaza City June 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RC2PBH9PNMI4

US protests inspire activists across Middle East

In Israel, Palestine, Egypt and Tunisia protesters take up calls for reform in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.

Tunisia’s removal from EU financial blacklist should help boost economy

Three years after being designated as a high-risk country with strategic anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing deficiencies, Tunisia is officially off the list and getting ready for foreign investments.

People leave a train station, as Tunisia relaxes some of its lockdown rules while keeping other restrictions in place, as preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in La Marsa near Tunis, Tunisia May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Angus McDowall - RC2HMG9VLBYJ

Tunisia’s PM says country has beaten coronavirus

As new infections slow, Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh said Tunisia has achieved a "victory" over the virus.