A coup or not? Tunisian activists grapple with president’s powergrab

While Saied's shutdown of parliament has outsiders worried, in Tunisia he has 87% support and civil society remains strong

Outside Tunisia, the president's sacking of the prime minister and shutdown of parliament looked like a coup. Inside, however, activists and journalists are still struggling to define what is happening to their country - and what to do about it.

The day after the president acted, we had a conversation in the newsroom about whether it was a coup," said Thameur Mekki, the editor-in-chief of the influential media platform Nawaat. Other news outlets aired programmes debating the coup" question, and activist groups started worrying. But then, said Mekki, the president, Kais Saied, personally called leading civil society groups and gave assurances about their freedom to operate".