On January 6, 2011, 95% of Tunisia’s lawyers went on strike. This was largely inspired by the beatings of lawyers over the past days. The following day, a large number of teachers also joined the strike. Protests continued, and in response to those on January 11^th, police used riot gear to disperse protestors. Military personnel were also soon deployed in cities around the country to stop the rallies and protests. 


On January 14^th, Ben Ali dissolved the government and promised new legislative elections. However, after realizing that he was quickly losing his power, Ben Ali resigned the presidency at 4:00pm local time and delegated Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi to act as the head of state. Ben Ali and his family left the Presidential Palace and flew out of Laouina airport. Ben Ali first tried to head to France, but his request to land was rejected. The plane then flew to Saudi Arabia, where King Abdullah accepted them (as long as Ben Ali remained out of politics). Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is where Ben Ali and his family are currently staying in exile.