Figure of the movement against the high cost of living in Martinique, Rodrigue Petitot, head of the Rally for the Protection of Afro-Caribbean Peoples and Resources (RPPRAC), was arrested this Tuesday, November 12 in Fort-de-France.
An arrest that could increase tensions. Nicknamed “the R”, Rodrigue Petitot was placed in police custody at the central police station of Fort-de-France in Martinique, this Tuesday, November 12, announced the prosecution. This follows a complaint for home invasion and acts of intimidation against people exercising a public function, according to the same source.
Monday evening, Rodrigue Petitot entered the prefectural residence in the upscale Didier district of Fort-de-France with three other people. An intrusion whose aim was to obtain an interview with the Minister of Overseas Territories, François-Noël Buffet, currently visiting Martinique.
It was the prefect of Martinique, Jean Christophe Bouvier, who physically opposed the entry of the president of the RPPRAC into the residence, considering that it was an “unacceptable, unimaginable, intolerable” attitude.
A release expected by its allies
“We are waiting for 'the R' to be released. I fear this evening a new night of disturbances which will be the responsibility of the prefect and the minister,” reacted Tuesday evening the secretary of the RPPRAC, Aude Goussard, at the microphone of local radio RCI.
After the announcement of Rodrigue Petitot's arrest, around a hundred people gathered in front of the Fort-de-France police station to demand his release.
Since September, Martinique has been affected by a demonstration movement against the high cost of living which degenerated with urban riots and violence, mainly at night, during which, according to figures from the prefecture, more than 230 vehicles were deliberately burned and dozens commercial premises were set on fire, vandalized or looted.
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