Yet beneath the routine, residents say something has shifted. Instead, many point to an event more than 2,000km away: Israel's war on Gaza. After years in which public political discussions all but disappeared due to apathy and President Kais Saied's increasingly authoritarian rule, many residents say Israel's genocidal campaign has given them a reason to speak openly again. "Our leaders betrayed us," Wajdi, a fruit seller, told Middle East Eye. "We're told every day that Tunisia stands with Palestine, but what has our government actually done?"