French President Francois Hollande arrived Thursday in Tunisia, birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings that is battling political instability and ruled by an Islamist-led government, for talks expected to be dominated by events rocking Egypt.

Presidential spokesman Romain Nadal said that during his visit Hollande was "naturally ready to discuss" the situation "in Egypt, Libya and Syria", other Arab countries swept by popular uprisings.

Rached Ghannouchi, who heads Tunisia's ruling Ennahda party close to the Muslim Brotherhood, ruled out a similar scenario in his country following the ouster of Egypt's Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, in remarks published Thursday.

"Some young dreamers may think that they can repeat in Tunisia what happened in Egypt, but their efforts would be wasted," Ghannouchi told Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat, insisting the situation in Tunisia is "different" from that in Egypt.

French President Francois Hollande will start a two-day visit to Tunisia on Thursday to deliver a message of "encouragement" to the pioneer of the Arab Spring revolution which toppled several dictators in the region.

The trip comes amid fresh tensions in Libya and Egypt, two countries also changed forever by the Arab Spring, which according to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, "has the most chances of succeeding" in Tunisia.

Chaotic scenes marred Tunisia's first parliamentary debate on a new post-Arab Spring constitution on Monday, as tensions flared between the ruling Islamists and their opponents over the long-delayed draft.

The North African country's political stability remains fragile, two and a half years after the revolution that ousted veteran strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, adding urgency to the need for the new charter.

A Tunisian rapper jailed for two years for a song in which he insulted the police will be freed on appeal, to the relief of his supporters who hailed Tuesday's ruling as a victory for freedom of expression.

Ala Yaacoubi, who goes by the rap name Weld El 15, was imprisoned on June 13 for a song he wrote called "The Police are Dogs," and the Tunis court of appeal on Tuesday reduced the jail term to a six-month suspended sentence, allowing him to go free.

The Tunisian press strongly criticized the National Assembly on Tuesday after a debate on the new constitution degenerated into chaos, with some saying it had missed the chance to make history.

After more than 18 months of work on drafting a new post-Arab Spring charter, the assembly "missed a rendez-vous with history," the main French-language daily La Presse announced on its front page.

Tunisia's first parliamentary debate on the draft constitution was suspended on Monday amid chaotic scenes in the National Assembly, with tensions between the ruling Islamists and their opponents flaring over the long-delayed text.

The North African country's political stability remains fragile, two and a half years after the revolution that ousted former strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011, adding urgency to the need for the new text.

Several hundred people who had fled the 2011 Libya conflict refused Sunday to leave the Choucha refugee camp in southern Tunisia, which was due to be shut, blocking attempts to dismantle their tents, Agence France Presse reported.

The U.N.'s refugee agency UNHCR said in March that it would close the camp on Sunday. Choucha opened in early 2011 to shelter those fleeing the conflict that toppled Libya's former strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

Hundreds of Tunisians took to the streets of the capital on Saturday to protest against a draft law aimed at excluding former regime officials from taking part in future elections, an Agence France Presse journalist said.

The Islamist-led government in power since a 2011 uprising toppled veteran dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has been pushing for the controversial law.

Some 200 people in a camp in southeast Tunisia for those who fled the Libya conflict in 2011 will be evicted Sunday when the U.N. refugee agency closes it, an NGO said Thursday.

"They are pushing the refugees out of the camp, they are closing it. We condemn the lack of humanitarian aid, the lack of security, the lack of resettlement," Nicanor Haon, with the Boats 4 People NGO, told a news conference.