A public meeting in support of a national march in Tunis was held on Friday, October 16, 2026, in Paris. The event was organized by several groups, including the Committee for the Respect of Freedoms and Human Rights in Tunisia (CRLDHT), the Federation of Tunisian Citizens of Both Shores (FTCR), and the Democratic Association of Tunisians in France (ADTF), with support from the League for Human Rights (LDH) and other international organizations. A unitary and popular national march is scheduled for Saturday, October 17, 2026, in Tunis. The march was decided on September 29 at the headquarters of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) by a coordination involving the UGTT, the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LTDH), the National Order of Tunisian Lawyers, and numerous other civil society organizations. The event's motto is "Tunisia first... The people above all considerations." The organizers highlighted a social and economic crisis that is affecting the population, including erosion of purchasing power, rising unemployment and precariousness, and a decline in public services. Shortages of water, medicines, and basic products have been reported, revealing an inability to meet basic needs. Since the coup by Kais Saied on July 25, 2021, the achievements of the freedom and dignity revolution are almost completely undermined. Freedoms of the press, expression, creation, and association have been attacked; justice has been instrumentalized; trials and convictions have increased against activists, lawyers, journalists, unionists, and opponents. Organizations defending rights, including the LTDH, UGTT, and the Bar Association, are hindered, threatened, or suspended. The right to peaceful demonstration, the last space for collective expression, is directly targeted through night arrests, legal proceedings against participants, and penalization of solidarity. The Tunisian people have set an example, with their 2011 revolution inspiring many movements for democracy and dignity. The organizers called for the public meeting in Paris to express support and solidarity with the national march and the social and democratic forces supporting it, to defend freedoms of expression, press, association, and demonstration, the independence of justice, and the right to a fair trial, to demand the immediate release of all political and opinion prisoners, to defend economic and social rights, and to affirm that the future of Tunisia belongs to its people. They emphasized the need for intensified mobilizations and the unity of action of democratic, union, associative, and civil forces in Tunisia and abroad to push back against arbitrary measures. International solidarity is considered indispensable, with calls for human rights defense organizations, trade unions, political organizations, elected officials, and democrats around the world to support Tunisian organizations fighting for freedom and democracy.