Summary:

On Friday 15 November French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said that Victor Dupont, the French student who was arrested and held since 19 October, was released from prison on Tuesday 12 November and was back in France. 

                                [mepr-show if=”loggedout”] Please login or purchase an InBrief membership to view the rest of this report [/mepr-show] [mepr-show if=”loggedin”] 

Victor Dupont was arrested on 19 October and brought before a military court which issued his prison deposit warrant on charges of threatening state security. Dupont was moved to El-Mornaguia Prison while a female Franco-Tunisian friend of his was arrested the following day and detained at a women’s prison.  

Reports indicated that French diplomatic officials were in contact with Tunisian authorities about the case and that French President Emmanuel Macron had recently spoken to President Kais Saied twice about the case and said that it was the subject of regular calls between top level diplomats. 

Dupont started his PhD in 2022 studying the socio-economic conditions of participants in the 2011 revolution in various regions of Tunisia. His research is financed by the European Research Council (ERC) and was supervised by the French researcher and Tunisia-specialist, Vincent Geisser. Geisser has been accused in the Tunisian press of producing research that denigrates Tunisia’s reputation and of being allied to exiled former President Moncef Marzouki. 

Outlook: 

Since the arrest, many foreign researchers in Tunisia have expressed alarm and concerns for their own safety, while some foreign institutions announced plans to stop recruiting foreign staff for positions in Tunisia.  

The case has caused alarm for many expatriates residing in Tunisia as the conditions leading to Dupont’s arrest and the nature of the charges remain largely unclear. The lack of clarity raises concerns for many individuals and organizations operating in Tunisia about the physical safety and legal status of their employees. 

Despite the outcry over his arrest, many Tunisians view the arrest as justified given France’s long colonial history in Tunisia and the perceptions, often stoked by politics, that foreign meddling in Tunisia continues unabated.  

The choice by French authorities to not comment on the reasons of the arrest and the negotiation to liberate Dupont point to French intentions to contain the incident without impacting diplomatic ties between Tunisia and France.  

[/mepr-show] 

Explore our services or speak with our team of North Africa-based risk experts.