Martinique was licking its wounds on Thursday after a night of chaos marked by looting, fires and violence which left 26 police and gendarmes injured, pushing the island’s prefect to decree a curfew and a ban on demonstrations throughout the country until Monday.
A man was also shot and killed in circumstances that are still unclear: he was found injured by the gendarmes who were intervening against the looting of a shopping center in Robert (east) and died in hospital, according to the prefecture of Martinique. An investigation was opened, added the prefecture, ruling out the involvement of the police who did not “did not use their weapons during the riots. From a source close to the case, the man was the victim of a settling of scores between rioters.
Since September, the Caribbean island has been marked by a movement against the high cost of living, a recurring theme in overseas territories, which has degenerated into urban violence.
Thursday afternoon, more than fifty people invaded the runway of Fort-de-France airport in the town of Lamentin (center), a police source told AFP. “Rumors circulated on social networks this afternoon, according to which 300 or 350 CRS were to arrive in Martinique by plane. This completely false information is at the origin of groupings and the invasion of the airport runway“, lamented the prefecture of Martinique on the social network “on board 1,117 passengers” were diverted to Guadeloupe following the closure of the airport, according to the prefecture of Guadeloupe.
The situation had calmed down in recent weeks but incidents broke out on Monday between the CRS and activists who were carrying out a blocking action in Lamentin. Since then, urban violence has been recorded again every night. As a result, the prefect of the island, Jean-Christophe Bouvier, signed two decrees on Thursday concerning “the entire territory of Martinique”. The first establishes a curfew from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., the second prohibits gatherings and demonstrations from 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both orders run until Monday.
White plane
Schools will also remain closed for the second consecutive day on Friday, indicated the Martinique rectorate. The Martinique University Hospital announced Thursday the launch of a white plan during which “deprogramming of surgical procedures or consultations is organized”. “However, particular attention is paid to urgent or cancer-related interventions”added the CHU in its press release, specifying that “Canceled appointments will be rescheduled as soon as possible. In addition, pharmacies on the island reported on the same day “no longer able to provide emergency service”.
Twelve gendarmes were injured during the night from Wednesday to Thursday.including one by bullet“, a prefectural source told AFP. A police source reported 14 CRS 8 police officers lightly injured and six arrests. No less than 400 vehicles were burned, according to the same source, a huge parking lot sheltering new cars imported into Martinique having gone up in smoke.
A sixth round table against the high cost of living is planned for Friday at 3 p.m. with the various stakeholders. The previous five, bringing together the RPPRAC (Rally for the Protection of Afro-Caribbean Peoples and Resources), a movement at the forefront of mobilization, and economic actors, elected officials, State services and the Territorial Collectivity of Martinique (CTM) did not produce results deemed satisfactory by the protesters. “The stores are broken because we broke the people’s wallets,” declared Rodrigue Petitot, president of the RPPRAC. “This violence can be classified as self-defense”continued the one nicknamed “The R”, affirming that his movement had “always insisted that it be peaceful”
“Dead Island”
On Wednesday, the main point of tension was the town of Carbet (north), where four gendarmes were slightly injured while they were carrying out a blockade lifting operation. The protesters had installed this roadblock as part of a “dead island” operation launched by several activist and trade union organizations, denouncing in particular “the violence carried out by (the police officers of the) CRS 8” Monday against anti-cost of living activists blocking an important road in Lamentin.
The movement against the high cost of living was launched at the beginning of September by the RPPRAC, which demands an alignment with France of the prices of food products, displayed 40% more expensive in Martinique. The resulting urban violence had already led the prefecture to establish a nighttime curfew from September 18 to 26 in certain districts of Fort-de-France and Lamentin.
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