The Tunisian General Labor Union announced its rejection of the form of the national dialogue proposed by President Kais Saied, at a time when Tunisians demonstrated in front of the Tunisian consulate in the suburbs of Paris to denounce the president's exceptional measures.
The Secretary-General of the Tunisian General Labor Union, Noureddine Taboubi, said that he "will not present a blank check to anyone," noting that the dialogue with Tunisian youth and society proposed by Tunisian President Kais Saied is through the active and organized parties.
Taboubi announced that the union will not participate in a dialogue that takes place through popular committees, and that no one can chart the future of Tunisia without the participation of the union, which will defend economic and social rights and what he described as Tunisia's national options.
In a related context, Tunisian protesters demonstrated in front of their country's consulate in Bantin, a suburb of Paris, to denounce President Said's actions, and demand the re-work of Parliament.
The demonstrators stressed the importance of the separation of powers, considering that the gathering of powers in the hands of the president is an unconstitutional issue and constitutes an entry point for dictatorship, as they described it.
The demonstrators in front of the Tunisian consulate also demanded the release of imprisoned deputies, led by MP Seif El-Din Makhlouf, and expressed their rejection of military trials.
A number of figures from different political spectrums participated in the vigil, including former government officials and parliamentarians.
Since last July 25, Tunisia has been experiencing a severe political crisis, when Said began taking “exceptional” decisions, including freezing the competencies of Parliament, lifting the immunity of its deputies, abolishing the constitutionality monitoring body, issuing legislation by presidential decrees, headed by the Public Prosecution, and dismissing the Prime Minister. Provided that he assumes the executive authority with the assistance of a government whose head he has appointed.
The majority of political forces reject Said's exceptional decisions, and consider them a "coup against the constitution", while other forces support them in light of the political, economic and health crises (the Corona pandemic), and see them as a "correction of the course of the 2011 revolution" that overthrew the regime of the late President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
It is noteworthy that Tunisia witnessed a national dialogue in 2013, following a strong political crisis and the assassination of leaders in the leftist Popular Front, which ended the rule of the “troika” (a coalition between the Islamic Ennahda Movement and two secular parties), which was replaced by a “technocratic” government headed by Mehdi Jomaa in 2014.