Saturday evening is the start of the weekend in Tunisia when the demand for beer becomes unrivaled. Whether at high-end or popular pubs, it is difficult to find a bar stool. As soon as a customer leaves a pub, scores of others arrive, seeking a little peace of mind in an atmosphere charged with politics and uncertainty.

Saturday evening is the start of the weekend in Tunisia when the demand for beer becomes unrivaled. Whether at high-end or popular pubs, it is difficult to find a bar stool. As soon as a customer leaves a pub, scores of others arrive, seeking a little peace of mind in an atmosphere charged with politics and uncertainty.

Many Tunisian elites still consider beer consumption a sign of intellectual and cultural openness, feeling more at home at the pubs scattered between Marseille Avenue and the other inner streets and alleys in the vicinity of the historic Bourguiba Avenue.

Economically, it is well known that Tunisian beer consumption has a significant value for the state budget and its contribution to the tourism sector is equally as important. This sector ensures high revenues for the national economy and creates many jobs, directly and indirectly.

Although the tourism sector experienced a slump since the revolution, alcohol consumption has nevertheless increased for the second year in a row.  Sales and consumption of beer rose by 20% during the first half of 2012 compared with the same period of 2011 according to figures released by the Refrigeration and Beer Brewery Company (RBBC) in Tunisia. Beer production has also taken similar upward trend, rising by 19.53%, according to RBBC.

Ramadan ‘Happy Hour’

The Beer Brewery used to give its workers a leave during Ramadan, which wasn’t the case this year when RBBC decided to maintain its production during Ramadan, an exceptional trend that came in response to the increasing demands for beer since the revolution.

Statements made by many Ennahda Movement figures regarding alcohol consumption, have led to large-scale debates among Tunisians. While Ennahda Movement leader, Rashid al-Ghannushi, declared before the October 2011 elections that the ban on alcoholic drinks would be gradually implemented through reduction of pubs opening hours and imposition of high taxes on beer and wines, Tunisian Prime Minister and Secretary General of the Ennahda Movement, Hamadi Jebali, affirmed that the ban would further complicate the situation, and that his government would not shut down pubs. He at the same time wondered why alcoholic beverages and drugs were widely spread throughout the country.

Parties affiliated with the Salafist current, like Adil Alami, head of Moderation Society for Awareness & Reform (formerly known as the Society for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice), called upon the Tunisian government to withdraw pub licenses.

But there was more than mere statements as a wave of Salafist-led violence swept through different regions of the country, including the governorates of Jendouba, Sidi Bouzid, Kef and Bizerte, targeting many inns, pubs and wine shops, and was met with awful government inaction and clear collusion by the Ministry of Interior, headed by Minister Ali Laarayedh who is also head of the Constituent Body and member of the Executive Bureau of the Islamic Ennahda Movement.

It seems that the violence directed against liqueurs and their promotions have had many repercussions. During an extraordinary general assembly of RBBC, general manager, Hamadi Bossabie, announced a decision to change RBBC’s name, where the word beer will be replaced by beverages. He justified this change by the RBBC’s desires to separate its soft drinks activities from the production of beer, to identify the activity with fewer profits.

In an unprecedented action, Tunisair suspended serving wines and alcoholic drinks on all its flights throughout the entire fasting month of Ramadan. This decision was met with dissatisfaction by a number of the RBBC officials and tour operators, as well as hoteliers and travel agencies, considering in particular, that the Tunisian tourist industry began to recover following the difficult times in the aftermath of the revolution.

It should be noted that the rise in sales and consumption of alcoholic drinks, especially beer, has not been experienced by RBBC since its establishment in the 1950s. This upsurge has however coincided with the Islamists’ coming into power.