The judicial examination of the procedure aimed at suspending the polluting activities of the Tunisian Chemical Group (GCT) in Gabès has once again been postponed. While the region faces repeated health incidents attributed to industrial emissions, residents, lawyers and associations denounce a stagnation in the matter and demand concrete measures to protect public health and the environment.
The Gabès court decided to postpone until January 8, 2026 the examination of the summary case relating to the shutdown of the polluting units of the Tunisian Chemical Group. The announcement was made by the president of the regional section of the Gabès Bar Association, Mounir Adouni, confirming a new step in a file that has become one of the most environmentally sensitive in the south of the country.
Fourth judicial postponement
This is the fourth consecutive postponement of this introductory summary procedure, which aims to force the shutdown of industrial units accused of polluting the air and threatening the health of local populations.
The court decided to broaden the scope of the file by integrating the Ministry of the Environment, the National Environmental Protection Agency (ANPE) as well as the Ministry of Health, and required the production of new supporting documents, a step perceived by some observers as a factor of additional delay in the progress of the file.
This case comes against a backdrop of growing frustration among the population of Gabès, faced with repeated episodes of asphyxiation and poisoning by toxic gases attributed to emissions from the chemical complex. Several schools have been affected in recent weeks, with students suffering from breathing difficulties, headaches and nausea, sometimes requiring hospital treatment.
A file perceived as emblematic
These incidents have fueled the anger of citizens and local associations, who demand not only the immediate shutdown of the units in question, but also the dismantling of polluting installations and a right to a healthy environment and breathable air.
During previous hearings, several dozen demonstrators gathered in front of the court to express their fed up with what they perceive as the slowness of legal proceedings.
For residents and environmental defenders, this successive postponement reinforces the impression of a matter that is moving backwards, even though the health and ecological situation in the Gabès region remains worrying.
Beyond just incidents of asphyxiation among schoolchildren, the population denounces chronic pollution documented for decades, linked to the activities of the GCT and the absence of effective structural measures.
