Journal of Romance Studies Volume 17, Number 2, Summer 2017 ISSN: 1473-3536 (Print) • ISSN: 1752-2331 (Online) © Institute of Modern Languages Research 2017 https://doi.org/10.3828/jrs.2017.16 -Z-: Flamingos, francophonie, and the arts of urban dissent in Tunisia Te arts of urban dissent in Tunisia Rania Said Binghamton University Abstract Tis article studies the environmentally conscious caricatures of the anonymous francophone Tunisian architect -Z-, as featured in his blog DEBATunisie. More particularly, it focuses on -Z-’s fervent criticism of Emirati real estate investments in Tunisia in the early 2000s. Te article argues that -Z-’s caricatures expose us to a new phase of neoliberal practices in Tunisia in which nefarious megaprojects are no longer part of a colonial enterprise, but rather an essential feature of the rise of Gulf monarchies into global fnancial dominance. It also argues that the artist mobilizes a visual ecopoetics and uses the fgure of the famingo to disturb the logic of development advanced by Emirati developers and Tunisia’s ruling elite. Finally, the article explores the political power of producing satire in French in Tunisia today by examining the ways in which the perceived elitism of the French language can be counteracted by the accessibility of digital art. Keywords: Tunisia, -Z-, DEBATunisie, caricature, environment, ecopoetics, neoliberalism, United Arab Emirates Under the Ben Ali regime very few dissenting voices could make themselves heard. Te architect, francophone blogger, and caricaturist -Z- was among this very small group of rebellious voices who were later credited as the cultural instigators of the 2010–2011 Tunisian uprising. Protected by anonymity, -Z- started his blog DEBATunisie in 2007 to protest against the aggressive urbanization of Tunis and the suspicious dealings of Emirati developers around the lakes of the capital. -Z-’s concern for the environment, and more partic- ularly for the endangered famingos of the lakes of Tunis, later developed into more explicit political dissent against the corruption of the Ben Ali regime.