641 Police Disperse Large Bread Protest

Just when it appeared the government had successfully weathered the immediate bread crisis by increasing the supply of subsidized bread to Egypt’s poorest neighborhoods and cracking down on black-market sales of subsidized flour, a protest in the Mediterranean town of Al-Borolos has shown the current solution to be tenuous.

Eight thousand protesters blocked off the coastal highway linking Egypt to Libya on Saturday, apparently to protest a cut in the amount of subsidized flour to be distributed to Al-Borolos’ fishermen. Police used rubber bullets and tear gas to clear the demonstration. Residents say riot police detained pregnant women and hit children.

If I understand the press reports correctly, the protests succeeded: A meeting between the local governor, senior members of the NDP, and Hamdeen Sabbahi, the leader of the unlicensed opposition Al-Karama (Dignity) Party who holds a seat in Parliament as an independent, produced an agreement whereby the fishermen will now be able to buy subsidized flour at LE 2/kg, down from LE 2.8/kg.

Update, June 10: See Mariam Fam’s good story in the WSJ, which leads with events in al-Borolos, today.

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  1. Sounds like something a little more familiar than success. Sounds like economic discontent getting bought off cheap.

    Comment by MC — June 10, 2008 #

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