Economic protests erupt in Tunisia, PM seeks calm, opposition urges more protests

Protests erupted in more than 10 towns across Tunisia on Monday against the price and tax increases imposed by the government to reduce its ballooning deficit and satisfy its international lenders. One protestor was killed in Tebourba, a town 40 km (25 miles) west of the capital Tunis.

Khelifa Chibani, a spokesman for the interior ministry, said 44 people had been arrested for carrying weapons such as knives, setting government buildings on fire and looting shops.

Tunisia's main opposition party on Tuesday called for protests against the "unjust" 2018 budget including price and tax hikes to continue until the government scraps it, a day after one demonstrator was killed in clashes.

PM Youssef Chahed promised an end to economic hardship and told reporters that while demonstrations were acceptable, violence was not.

While Tunisia is widely seen as the only democratic success story among the "Arab Spring" nations where revolts took place in 2011, it has had nine governments since then and none of them have been able to tackle the country's growing economic problems.