A general strike and tens of thousands of protesters brought the southern Tunisian city of Gabes to a standstill, backing demands for the closure of a state chemical plant blamed for a pollution crisis.

Shops, markets and schools shut down on Tuesday during the strike, halting economic activity in coastal Gabes in response to a call by Tunisia’s main trade union, the UGTT.

Crowds held up banners condemning the environmental pollution caused by the CGT phosphate plant over the years, which critics say now threatens the health of thousands of residents.

Protesters marched through the city, chanting slogans such as “Gabes wants to live” and “dismantle the polluting units”.

Earlier this month, President Kais Saied said Gabes was suffering an “environmental assassination” due to what he called criminal policy choices by previous authorities, blaming them for widespread cancer and respiratory illness, as well as the destruction of local ecosystems.

Health Minister Mustapha Ferjani said on Monday that the government would build a cancer hospital in Gabes to deal with rising cases, but gave no timeline.

In 2017, the Tunisian government promised to gradually shut down the factory. However, earlier this year, authorities said they would instead ramp up production at the plant.

Environmental groups have warned that marine life has been severely affected, with local fishermen reporting a dramatic decline in fish stocks over the past decade, impacting a vital source of income for many in the region.

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