The town of Gabès regained its calm on Thursday after a restless night marked by clashes between young demonstrators and the police. These tensions erupted following a peaceful march denouncing the continued deterioration of the environmental situation in the region.
The demonstrators, who left from Place des Martyrs in the direction of the production units of the Groupement Chimique Tunisien (GCT), chanted slogans demanding the dismantling of industrial installations which they consider responsible for the atmospheric pollution affecting the city. The police used tear gas to disperse the protesters after isolated incidents.
In a press release published Thursday, the “Stop Pollution” movement reiterated its demands: the effective application of the government decision of June 29, 2017, ordering the closure of the GCT’s industrial units, as well as the cancellation of the decision of March 5, 2025 authorizing the installation of two new ammonia and hydrogen production plants in Gabès.
This resumption of protest revives the debate on environmental justice in the south of the country, where residents have been denouncing the health and economic impacts of chemical activity for years.
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