Two police officers were injured, targeted by lead gunfire, during a new evening of urban violence in Martinique.
Two police officers, targeted by pellet gunfire, were injured in the legs on Monday evening in Fort-de-France, a police Source told AFP, during a new night of urban violence, in a context of mobilization against the high cost of living in Martinique.
Around 11pm local time on Monday evening, during an intervention for “public order disturbances”, two police officers were injured “in the legs but their prognosis is not life-threatening”, the same police Source said on Tuesday.
Shortly after 9 p.m. Monday, rioters set up roadblocks on an avenue that crosses the Sainte-Thérèse district of Fort-de-France, the heart of tensions for several days between groups of individuals and the police.
A container robbed
A vehicle was set ablaze and pushed onto the public highway, according to images seen on social media. The fire required the intervention of firefighters.
According to a witness, a group of rioters entered the port and robbed a container.
A roadblock was set up on the main road between the south and north of this French Caribbean island and pallets and tires were positioned on the road for much of the night on a roundabout. Firefighters said they intervened to put out a fire. The gendarmes restored traffic.
In the Sainte-Thérèse district, for the second consecutive night, roadblocks were “set on fire again” “by groups of individuals who threw stones at the police”, the prefecture said on Saturday. The mobile gendarmes deployed on the scene responded by using tear gas.
A protest movement against the price of foodstuffs
The Grand Port Maritime de Martinique, through which 98% of goods entering or leaving the territory pass, has been the target of a protest movement against the high cost of food since September 1.
Hypermarkets were blocked last weekend at the call of the Rally for the Protection of Afro-Caribbean Peoples and Resources (RPPRAC).
Furthermore, this association published a press release calling for the blockade of the island until transparency is established on the ongoing negotiations.
