The tyrannical regime of Tunisian president Ben Ali has denied a French journalist entry to the country. Demonstrating the “plurality” and “progress” the dyed-haired tyrant is running on as he seeks his fifth reelection is a no doubt suspenseful campaign, Tunisian authorities turned back French journalist Florence Beauge at the Tunis International Airport.

The Tunisians authorities claimed that Ms. Beauge is hostile to the regime - i.e. she intends to write about the sham elections about to take place in a few days - and that she arrived without proper authorization late Tuesday (there is no necessary paperwork or authorization for a French national to obtain, but foreign journalists do need permission to work in the country).

Ms. Beauge is a writer for the daily Le Monde and had previously been in Tunis earlier this month, and her writing was, of course, surveyed by the state and they deemed her hostile. Anything short of “I love Ben Ali, ‘o the Great” is classified as propaganda by the Ali goons: “dubious activities” and “blatant malevolence” were the words of choice by the government, which claimed that it forewarned Ms. Beauge that she would not be allowed in. Ms. Beauge disputes the claim that she was told beforehand that she would be denied entry.

“The police and Tunisair (airline) officials keeping watch of me seemed a bit embarrassed,” she stated about the night she spent in the airport.

Her previous reports published claims by political opponents of police abuses, which were dismissed by the justice ministry.

Tunisia is the most repressive Arab nation in terms of press freedom, shor of Libya. The nations recently ranked in 154th place in the table of press freedom as compiled by the Paris-Based Reporters Without Borders,

And the Tunisian First Lady and former salon-owner is back to no good:

At Tunis airport, an AP reporter saw police searching the bags of incoming journalists earlier this week, apparently on the lookout for a book recently published in France about the wife of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, which has been banned in Tunisia.