Greetings Expats,
Great weekend with beautiful weather and lots to do. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. My family and I visited the Matador Restrauant in Menzah V. The pizza was great and they played nice Latino music which was a special treat for me.
And now for the update…
Expat Awareness
The main reason why the scheduled 3 day fuel strike that was supposed to start today was canceled was mainly due to the fact that officials promised they would crack down on so called black market fuel traffickers.
Analysis
Today’s crack down on illegal fuel sales sparked angry protest in Jendouba. According to one report the “smugglers used cement barriers and burned tires in protest against the seizure of their goods by units of the National Guard.”
Why all the fuss? Illegal gas trafficking undercuts the local market, since Libyan and Algerian fuel is sold at a quarter of the going price in Tunisia.
Forecast
We can be sure to see more of these protests especially in cities near the Algerian and Libyan borders such as Beja and Gabes.
Moving Forward
It is highly unlikely that this style of protest will reach Tunis or other expat areas. Still we have to remember that there have been a number of demonstrations on major roads designed to cause traffic delays and disruption.
Looking ahead it’s interesting to note that the same loan which was delayed after the assassination of opposition politician Chokri Belaid in February will be signed tomorrow (16/4/2013).
Let’s keep our eyes open and continue to share updates.