Question 16513 — foreign policy

Summary

Mrs Anna Pic draws the attention of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs to the particularly alarming regression of human rights and the democratic situation in Tunisia. Fifteen years after the popular protests of the Arab Spring and while Tunisia has long been considered a democratic example resulting from these movements, the country has experienced a clear decline in public freedoms and the State since 2021. of law. The instrumentalization of justice for political ends constitutes one of the main manifestations of President Kaïs Saïed's authoritarian drift. Judicial proceedings targeting political opponents, journalists or activists are increasing, contributing to making many detainees political prisoners. These prosecutions are often based on false testimonies whose credibility is difficult to call into question. due to violations of fair trial guarantees. Indeed, several procedures take place without the presence of the accused and without press access to the hearings. For example, the Franco-Tunisian sports journalist Mourad Zeghidi or the anti-racist activist Saadia Mosbah, behind the adoption in 2018 of a pioneering law against racism, were the subject of particularly worrying prosecutions. On June 23, 2026, the latter was sentenced to eight years in prison for money laundering and illicit enrichment. However, many international organizations, including Amnesty International, have denounced “unfounded accusations” as well as “an appalling new illustration of the use of criminal justice to silence civil society”. This situation demonstrates structural racism that has become entrenched in politics of the Saïed Government, giving way to unprecedented violence, with physical attacks in the streets, housing evictions, police raids and massive online hate campaigns against Tunisians who do not correspond to the standards determined by the government and sub-Saharan migrants. More broadly, the use of repressive laws thus contributes to silencing any form of opposition or criticism of power. Furthermore, if the Tunisian president concentrates ever more important prerogatives in his hands, particularly in the legislative and judicial fields, he has also replaced the director of the National Institute of Statistics by decree, raising strong questions about the independence of this institution, and has a stranglehold on the media space. Indeed, the degradation of press freedom is of particular concern. Tunisia fell from 72nd to 129th place in the world press freedom ranking established by Reporters Without Borders between 2020 and 2025. This clear regression is accompanied by increased police repression, a weakening of counter-powers and a persistent economic crisis which further weakens the Tunisian population. In view of these elements, it asks him what diplomatic initiatives France intends to take in the face of Kaïs Saïed's autocratic drift to promote respect for the rule of law, public freedoms and the country's international commitments.

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