After the peaceful march which brought together hundreds of citizens in the streets of Gabès, the Secretary of State for National Security, Sofiane Belsadek, went there, this Tuesday, October 21, 2025, to meet civil society actors and listen to local demands, reports Mosaique FM.
This visit takes place in a context of strong environmental mobilization. Residents of the region have for years denounced the dumping of phosphogypsum – a toxic by-product of the phosphate industry – into the sea, which they accuse of having seriously damaged the coastal ecosystem and having repercussions on public health.
During the citizens’ march organized the day before, participants demanded the gradual dismantling of the polluting units of the Tunisian Chemical Group (GCT) and the implementation of real pollution control solutions, promised many times but rarely materialized.
The presence of the Secretary of State in Gabès seems to respond to a desire to defuse tension and re-establish dialogue between the authorities and residents, in a region where social anger mixes with ecological distress.
According to several local sources, representatives of civil society insisted, during the meeting, on the need for a clear government commitment to stop phosphogypsum discharges and initiate a sustainable industrial reconversion plan.
For the moment, no official announcement has been made at the end of the visit, but it could mark the start of a new phase of consultation around the explosive environmental file of Gabès, one of the most sensitive in the country.
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