LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Tunisia: France
built 626 days ago
Tunisia is a republic with a strong presidential system dominated by a single political party. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has been in office since 1987, when he deposed Habib Bourguiba, president since Tunisia's independence from France in 1956. The ruling party, the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD), was the sole legal party for 25 years--including when it was known as the Socialist Destourian Party (PSD)--and still dominates political life. The president is elected to 5-year terms--with virtually no opposition--and appoints a prime minister and cabinet, who play a strong role in the execution of policy. Regional governors and local administrators are ... appointed by the central government; largely consultative mayors and municipal councils are elected. There is a bicameral legislative body.
Source:
Tunisia has a highly irregular coastline that affords many bays and several fine harbors, notably Bizerte, Qabis, Safaqis, and Susah. Part of the Atlas Mts. runs through N Tunisia; but, unlike Morocco and Algeria, the mountains in Tunisia rarely exceed 4,000 ft (1,219 m) in elevation. In the south, below the Chott Djerid (a great salt lake), stretches the Sahara Desert. The population, which is largely Berber and Arab, lives mainly near the coast, in urban areas. Most Tunisians are Sunni Muslims; there is a small Jewish community dating back to ancient times, although most have emigrated to Israel or France. Tunisians of all backgrounds have migrated to France in significant numbers.
Source:
In the mid-1800s, Tunisia's government under the rule of the Bey severely compromised its legitimacy by making several controversial financial decisions that led to its downfall. France began plans to take control of Tunisia when the Bey first borrowed large sums of money in an attempt to Westernize. This failing state facilitated the Algerian raids that occurred thereafter. The weakened Bey was powerless against these raids and unable to resist European colonization.
Source:
Tunisia became an independent state in 1956. Most Tunisian writing is in Arabic but, although their overall literary production remains limited, francophone Tunisian writers of the post-Independence generation, unlike their fellow writers from Algeria and Morocco, have quickly and effectively transcended the problematics of decolonization and national identity. In the last decade, in particular, Tunisian literature in French (published for the most part in France) has become a forum for cross-cultural experiments that are more in consonance with Postmodern aesthetic conceptions and intellectual preoccupations than with the concerns of post-colonial politics.
Source:
In 1955, France granted Tunisia complete internal self-government. Full independence was negotiated in 1956, and Habib Bourguiba became prime minister. The country became a republic in 1957 when the bey, Sidi Lamine, was deposed by a vote of the constituent assembly, which then made Bourguiba president. Bourguiba followed a generally pro-Western foreign policy, but relations with France were strained over Algerian independence, which Tunisia supported, and the evacuation of French troops from Tunisia. The French naval installations at Bizerte were the scene of violent confrontation in 1961; France finally agreed to evacuate them in 1963.
Source:
RICHARDSON, Texas, Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Stream, a leading global outsourcing company, has announced the opening of a second contact center in Tunis, Tunisia. The development of this second site is a direct result of the success Stream has had with its first Tunisian site, which was opened in 2004. Both sites will remain primarily focused on French language technical support and customer service and will operate as satellites to Stream's facilities in Angers and Velizy, France.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
France