New violence broke out in Martinique on the night of Tuesday October 22 to Wednesday October 23, 2024. “Several dozen repeated shots, in bursts, from automatic weapons” targeted gendarmes and firefighters, said the prefecture of the French Antilles island. This new night of violence comes in a context of mobilization against the high cost of living.
Read also: REPORTING. In Martinique, “everyone is suffocating” with the high cost of living but the violence is worrying
“Molotov cocktails and projectiles on the police and gendarmes”
Despite the curfew in place since October 10, “again last night, hooded and armed individuals tried to sow chaos in Martinique”, deplores the prefecture in a press release.
“The firefighters and gendarmes were targeted three times by several dozen repeated shots, in bursts, from automatic weapons in Schoelcher,” near Fort-de-France, the prefecture further specifies in its press release. “Many delinquents threw Molotov cocktails and projectiles at the police and gendarmes,” she explains.
She also reported the robbery of a motorist and the burning of his vehicle. “Seven barricades, often on fire” were erected in four municipalities in the territory, including Fort-de-France, adds the prefecture. Blockages are still in progress in Fort-de-France, with vehicles “overturned”, she points out.
A curfew extended until October 28
On Monday, the curfew was extended throughout the country, from midnight to 5 a.m., until October 28. Restrictions on the sale and transport of gasoline and the use of pyrotechnic devices have also been put in place.
Despite a memorandum of understanding signed in particular by the prefect, the Territorial Collectivity of Martinique and several economic players to lower the prices of thousands of food products “20% on average”, the mobilization against the high cost of living continues. The Rally for the Protection of Afro-Caribbean Peoples and Resources (RPPRAC), at the origin of the movement, refused to sign this agreement, considering it insufficient.
A meeting for companies in difficulty
In another press release, the prefecture specifies that “companies with fewer than 400 employees, impacted by these events, have the possibility of contacting the departmental advisor for companies in difficulty (CDED)”. She also announces that an exceptional meeting of the Departmental Committee for Examining Business Financing Problems (CODEFI) will be held this Thursday, October 24. in plenary format in order to discuss these difficulties.
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