Tunisia U-turn on phosphate plant sparks anger in blighted city

Gabes, Tunisia (AFP) June 26, 2025

The bedroom of 74-year-old Cherifa Attia smells like burnt rubber. The vast phosphate processing plant beside her home has been belching out toxic fumes into the atmosphere, blighting this Tunisian city. "This is killing us," said Cherifa as the foul air permeated her home. "That's all we breathe. Day and night." Residents of Gabes, a city of around 400,000 people, have been campaigning