The crazy rise in the exchange rate of the US dollar and the soaring prices did not ignite public sentiment in Sidon's streets. Protests remained timid and limited to a few dozen families in Old Sidon, where young men set fire to tires on the coastal road for a short time to protest the deteriorating living conditions. Notably absent from these meek movements were activists from the "Sidon Revolts" groups in all their variants and the protest movement; their cries of dissent remained in the virtual space via social media and WhatsApp groups, without translating into real calls to take to the streets and express their rejection and anger over the political and judicial developments. Activist Hania Al-Zaatari attributes this to "the necessity of waiting so that we are not scapegoats or counted on by anyone, as it clearly seems after the recent developments that there are some manufactured events and that there are two streets involved through the movements in Beirut after what happened in the Lebanese judiciary." She told "Nidaa al-Watan": "The collapse of the living and economic situation called for protest movements earlier, but personally, I find that helping people elsewhere is better than going out to the street right now, because, frankly, we couldn't effect the change needed in the recent parliamentary elections." Notably, some activists participated in the movements in Beirut, while others are waiting for the political and judicial scene to clear before making their decisions.
The city's calmness was also influenced by the Friday holiday, when shops and institutions closed, and residents went to mosques for prayers. Um Fatima Al-Battesh, a mother of five living in Old Sidon, told "Nidaa al-Watan": "What we feared has happened; everything has been dollarized, not just gasoline, diesel, electricity, and gas, but also medicine and prices of goods in shops and supermarkets, even private generator subscriptions, while workers and employees receive their salaries in Lebanese pounds. Our lives have become unbearable; how can we not revolt against injustice and neglect?" Only the traders in the city's commercial market reacted, but in a different manner, seeking not to disrupt their livelihood. A number of them gathered, initiated by Hajj Muhammad Rashid Al-Baba, and condemned the traffic plan set by the Sidon municipality, affirming that it negatively impacted their commercial activities. They signed a petition urging the municipality to retract it.
