Photo: © Nacer Talel pour HuffPost Maghreb

The facts: AFP- While sporadic peaceful protests began last week in the country, the protests escalated into riots on the night of Monday, January 8 to Tuesday, January 9, when clashes erupted after a man’s death during a protest.
During the following night, 49 police officers were injured and 206 people were arrested. Pounds, public buildings and shops have also been targeted, Interior Ministry spokesman Khlifa Chibani said, accusing thugs of being paid by political leaders.
A supermarket in the southern suburbs of Tunis was looted on the evening of Tuesday 9 January by young people who stole money and goods. The army has been deployed around banks, Posts and other sensitive government buildings in the country’s main cities, the Defense Ministry said.

 Comments by Ilaria Guidantoni, from Tunis, 12th of January 2018

The people of the day and the night

Information is increasingly difficult to find because everyone expresses his opinion in a very emotional way. We must distinguish two levels: that of the demonstrations, which took place more or less regularly and that of the night hooliganism which has nothing to do with the popular revolt.

The protesters are requiring the withdrawal of the 2018 budget. Life is increasingly expensive, however, the price of daily food has increased little, for example that of sugar has only grown by 0.98%. Falling prices may simply become an emergency medicine while the country needs long-lasting remedies. It would be essential – as Hamma Hammami, leader of the Popular Front Party said in an interview with Kapitalis, in response to a harsh criticism by the Prime Minister, Youssef Chahed, who accused him of complicity with the night’s ravages – to define and put a medium-term strategy to restore the economy and the budget situation.

However, it should be emphasized that the rioters who organize the nocturnal raids are manipulated, demonstrating that the road to real democracy is still long. Rioters are people who have nothing to do with the protesters. It seems that in Tunisia now cohabit two different populations: that of the day and that of the night. Hamma Hammami condemned all forms of violence and invited people to demonstrate “under the sun”. He also criticized the introduction of the new taxes because it is a decision according to the requirements of the IMF and not those of the Country. The state must ensure the right to work, of course, but people must learn that work is also a duty and that they must work well.

We have the impression that information mixes two things that shouldn’t be. In any case, it should not be thought that the situation will be settled thanks to some concessions from the government. The problem of the growth of delinquency, which is close to a mafia phenomenon, has existed for a long time and the risk is that it will be infiltrated by terrorists who can profit from it – just as looters take advantage of the very hot social situation – on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the Revolution, on January 14th.

Comments in cartoons by Tawfiq Omrane