Thousands protested deteriorating living standards outside the prime minister’s office in Tunis on Saturday following a call from Tunisia’s main trade union confederation. “The economic and social situation continues to worsen,” the confederation’s head, Noureddine Taboubi, said in a speech to protesters. Taboubi said the state’s ability to service its foreign debt in 2023 had been “to the detriment of the people and resulted in shortages of basic products”. He criticised the implementation of “diktats from the International Monetary Fund” (IMF) at the expense of ordinary Tunisians. The Tunisi…