Habib Bourguiba the meeting, Bourguiba was sent to Paris to set forth the platform of the party. In France, he became close to the Tunisian nationalist students such as Habib Thameur, Hédi Nouira and Slimane Ben Slimane. Furthermore, he met under-secretary of state for foreign affairs, Pierre Viénot, on 6 July 1936. This publicly stated interview was unpopular among the French colonialists in Tunisia, which led later meetings to be conducted secretly. But French authorities were opposed to the hopes of Tunisian militants, and some of them even thought that it was a mere illusion. When he returned to Tunis, in September,
Habib Bourguiba August, declared: "I am for the review of the Constitution so that all candidates who wish can run for office freely". Bourguiba carried out his promises with the legalization of two new political parties, on 19 November 1983: The Movement of Socialist Democrats and the Popular Unity Party, former allies of Ben Salah. A fall in the price of oil towards the end of 1983 reduced the revenue of the Tunisian state, which was already struggling to meet rising expenses. President Bourguiba agreed to seek a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF loan was conditional on government