There Was a Time When Speculation Was Just a Word
There was a time when speculation was just a word, a rumor, an underground practice confined to the margins of the economy. Today, it has transformed into a multiform hydra, devouring flour and potatoes with the same voracity, turning cold storage rooms into clandestine vaults. Yes, speculation is no longer a marginal offense: it's a real trench war against the social state.
7,200 tons of flour seized in Ariana! This figure is not a dry statistic: it's a symptom of a deep-seated problem. These tons do not come from a single silo but from a parallel logistics system, oiled and financed by a shadow economy that disregards borders and seasons. The speculator, like a faceless banker, diversifies their portfolio: flour, potatoes, oil, spoiled but profitable goods. The goal is not to feed but to starve, in order to collect more.
Kaïs Saïed has emphasized it: this war is existential. It's not just about regulating a market, but about restoring sovereignty. Because speculation, behind its apparent greed, has a political objective: to undermine social cohesion, sow distrust, destabilize the state by striking where it hurts the most: the citizen's plate.
A New Approach to Combat Speculation
This is why the creation of a municipal brigade against speculation should not be seen as a simple technical measure. It represents a rupture. It establishes a new culture, where we no longer just sanction but also prevent, hold accountable, and refound commercialization on civicism rather than cynicism. It's a paradigm shift: moving from a reactive state to a strategic state, from patchwork to anticipated regulation.
But let's not be naive: a brigade, no matter how experienced, will not win this war alone. The traceability of products, the regulation of the informal market, coordination between actors, and support for productive investment: these are the other fronts of battle. The enemy is mobile, so we need a mobile, flexible, and implacable state.
The Stakes Go Beyond the Household Basket
In this war, the stakes go beyond the simple household basket. It's about rehabilitating a model: that of the social state, guarantor of dignity and food security. Speculators thought they could turn hunger into a political lever; the state is now opposing them with a counter-fire: bread as a symbol of sovereignty.
