Tunisian Social Observatory
October 2025 Report
Growing civil and political mobilization and rising environmental protests
During October 2025, social actors maintained a high level of protest mobilization. Based on the sample studied, the team at the Tunisian Social Observatory of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights recorded 545 movements.
Despite a decline compared to September, which saw a peak of 635 movements, the level of protest in October remained higher than in other months of the year, as well as higher than in the same period last year, which saw a total of 300 movements.
Since the beginning of the year, the number of demonstrations has risen to 4248, compared to 2,308 for the same period last year, an increase of 84.06%.
Compared to previous months, October saw a resurgence of civil and political movements, which accounted for 30.51% of all protests. These actions were mainly related to developments surrounding the solidarity flotilla, developments in the Palestinian question, and the situation in the Gaza Strip.
Other movements took the form of picket lines, sit-ins, hunger strikes, and demonstrations denouncing trials and legal proceedings in cases involving freedom of expression, actions brought against journalists, and what is known as the “conspiracy against state security” case.
October also saw the emergence of environmental movements, accounting for 12.73% of protests. These were largely related to serious environmental incidents and violations in the governorate of Gabès, following leaks of asphyxiating gases from the Tunisian chemical complex. These emissions caused a series of suffocation incidents among students at Chott Assalam middle school. The protests then gradually spread to include, on several occasions, elderly people and women from the region.
Demands related to the right to employment, improved working conditions, and trade union movements continued to account for the majority of protests observed during October, representing 36.97% of the total. This is the highest rate recorded during this period.
Movements related to the education sector also continued in October. These were fueled by vacant positions among educational and para-educational staff in several schools and institutes, difficulties with school transportation, the dilapidated infrastructure of many unqualified establishments, as well as the deterioration of accommodation conditions in university residences and the poor internship conditions faced by students.
Residents continued to mobilize to demand their right to a decent life, an end to the isolation of their regions, and improved living conditions. Their demands focused in particular on the rehabilitation of roads, connection to the sanitation network, the installation of public lighting, access to transport, the improvement of health infrastructure and medical services, as well as the improvement of weekly markets and the relaunch of projects that had been suspended or interrupted for some time.
Similarly, individual and collective taxi drivers continued to demand the granting of licenses.
According to observations, social actors favored grassroots actions as their main form of protest. Sit-ins were the most commonly used tool, with 198 actions recorded during the month. This was followed by picket lines, which totaled 138 days of strikes, including one by students at the University of Gafsa demanding the right to change courses, and another by master’s students demanding the right to take exams. There was also a sit-in by managers and employees of the Société du Sud pour les services à Tataouine, who were demanding the regularization of their professional status, as well as one by management employees demanding permanent contracts.
Hunger strikes were staged 45 times, while traditional strikes were observed 42 times.
Protesters also resorted to peaceful marches—including one march to the capital—roadblocks, bans on access to certain schools, wearing red badges, and various disruptions to activities.
At the same time, the virtual space was mobilized 71 times to launch petitions or appeals via the media and social networks.
During the month of October, 95 actions were carried out by students, making them the most mobilized actors. They were followed by workers, who organized 86 actions, and then by residents, with 66 actions recorded. Activists and human rights defenders came next with 58 actions, followed by teachers and professors (43 actions), employees (38 actions), and unions (30 actions).
The month also saw protests involving parents, students, lawyers, unemployed graduates, doctors, journalists, taxi drivers, and farm workers.
Geographically, the distribution of protests remained largely unchanged. The governorate of Tunis remained in first place with 166 protests recorded in October, followed by the governorate of Gabès, which recorded 61 protests. The Gabès region was particularly affected by a climate of tension, anger, and discontent throughout the month in response to serious environmental violations caused by gas leaks.
Faced with this situation, residents, as well as representatives of civil and trade union organizations, resorted to various forms of protest: sit-ins, marches, general strikes, and demonstrations.
The governorate of Gafsa ranks third with 51 protests, followed by Nabeul with 43 protest.
At the bottom of the ranking, the governorate of Ben Arous saw only one action, followed by the governorates of Manouba, Monastir, and Ariana, which each recorded three actions.
Unlike in previous months, the institutions of the Presidency of the Republic were virtually absent from the list of targeted entities, accounting for less than 1% of the actions recorded.
Conversely, more than 40% of protests targeted the government, while 15% were directed at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The Ministry of Education was the target of around 7% of protests, and more than 15% of demands were addressed to regional authorities (municipalities, regional and local councils).
The remaining demands were divided between the Ministries of Transport, Health, Social Affairs, Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, Energy and Mines, as well as the judicial authorities and the National Water Distribution Utility.
Schools and universities were the main sites of mobilization during October, with 149 protests recorded. They were followed by ministry headquarters, where 48 protests were observed. Roads, public places, and large squares—including Habib Bourguiba Avenue in the center of the capital—accounted for a total of 103 protests.
Workplaces and government offices saw 52 protests, while the headquarters of the Presidency of the Republic, the Assembly of People’s Representatives, and the governorates saw 40 protests. Judicial institutions were the scene of seven protests, and prisons saw five.
Based on the sample studied, five cases of suicide or attempted suicide were recorded during the month of October. These acts affected both women and men in several regions of the country and were associated with situations of distress, rejection, and dissatisfaction. The incidents reported in the governorates of Sfax, Kebili, Kairouan, and Kasserine reflect a particularly worrying state of individual and social vulnerability.
The climate of despair and economic, social, and psychological insecurity remains a determining factor in the occurrence of these acts. The persistence of suicides and suicide attempts highlights an erosion of psychological and social security among part of the Tunisian population.
The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights has repeatedly called for this phenomenon to be given the attention it deserves, for it to be studied scientifically and psychologically, and for the factors of fragility and the root causes leading to such acts to be identified in order to put effective preventive measures in place.
The Tunisian Social Observatory team continues its work of documenting and monitoring acts of violence, theft, sexual assault, harassment, rape, intimidation, verbal abuse, and homicides, including femicides, of which approximately five cases were recorded during the month. The team also notes the persistence of domestic violence and a significant increase in digital violence, with women remaining the main targets.
Environmental violations continue in the governorate of Gabès, where environmental violence is compounded by institutional violence and inadequate health services. For the past two months, the region has been experiencing daily cases of asphyxiation linked to air pollution, in a context marked by denial and indifference on the part of state structures.
At the same time, the social movements shaking the region have been accompanied by excessive use of tear gas by the security forces, which are sometimes fired into homes and enclosed spaces, thereby increasing the risk of asphyxiation and the distress experienced by residents.
Violence continues to be characterized by forms of extremism and a desire for revenge. Its root causes are linked to theft, intimidation, revenge, harassment, sexual assault, and bullying. It is not limited to public and private spaces, but also extends to virtual, institutional, and educational spaces, as well as the media, tourist and recreational areas, and means of transportation.
The majority of perpetrators of violence are men, accounting for more than 85% of aggressors. Approximately 13% of acts were committed in a mixed form, while women were responsible for less than 2% of the acts observed.
As for the victims, neither gender was spared. Men accounted for more than 42% of victims, women for 17%, and violence involving both men and women accounted for approximately 41% of incidents.
Violence mainly took the form of crime, targeting assault or theft. In addition, environmental violence increased compared to previous months, often linked to protests and social movements demanding a healthy environment and lifestyle.
October was also marked by cases of violence in detention centers and prisons, where two suspicious deaths were reported, including that of a detainee suffering from mental health issues who was denied transfer to Al-Razi Hospital. The Gabès detention centers were also the scene of cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, observed by the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights during its visits.
The violence recorded includes sexual assault, domestic violence, and forms of violence in the virtual space, such as defamation, denigration, and disparagement.
Incidents of violence have been observed in different regions of the country and in various locations, including homes, prisons, transportation, recreational facilities, and economic establishments. The street remains the main location where the majority of acts have been recorded. This observation reflects the spread of impunity, as well as the tendency to dramatize violence in order to impose domination and intimidate or terrorize others.
