a curfew and a ban on demonstrations introduced following the violence

The prefect of Martinique will establish, Thursday, October 10, a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and ban demonstrations and gatherings on the island due to urban violence linked to the protest movement against the high cost of living, it has been learned Agence France-Presse (AFP) from a prefectural source.

Stores were burned or looted during the night from Wednesday to Thursday and flaming barricades erected in several communes of Martinique, which presented a face of desolation following this violence which left twenty-six police officers and gendarmes injured, including one by bullet. A man was also shot and killed in circumstances that are still undetermined: he was found injured by the gendarmes who were intervening against the looting of a shopping center and died in hospital, according to the prefecture, which specified that“no police [ni] no gendarme used his weapon” during the night.

Since September, the island has been marked by a movement against the high cost of living, a recurring theme in overseas territories, which has degenerated with urban violence. The situation had calmed down in recent weeks, but incidents occurred on Monday between the CRS and activists who were carrying out a blocking action against the high cost of living in Lamentin, near Fort-de-France. Since then, violence has been recorded every night again.

The minister responsible for overseas territories, François-Noël Buffet, condemned Thursday “with the greatest firmness” the violence that broke out overnight and urged citizens “to avoid any escalation of violence and to favor dialogue”. The minister clarified that “concrete answers” to the expectations of citizens had to be brought during the day, “during the local round table, with a view to sustainable solutions”.

A round table planned for Thursday

At 2 a.m. local time (8 a.m. in Paris), loud explosions were still heard in Schoelcher, a town adjoining Fort-de-France, according to an AFP journalist. Numerous videos were circulating on social networks, notably showing a burning barricade on the Fort-de-France ring road and projectile jets aimed at vehicles trying to bypass it.

The main point of tension of the day on Wednesday was the town of Carbet (North) on national road 2 (RN2), where “four gendarmes were slightly injured” while they successfully carried out a blockade lifting operation, said the prefecture. A municipal building, serving as an outpost for the brand new mobile territorial brigade based in the commune, was also completely burned down.

The police and demonstrators faced each other from 6 a.m. on Wednesday at this roadblock installed on the RN2, the main axis linking the north-west of Martinique and the center of the island, blocking hundreds of vehicles. “The gendarmerie, with the support of the mayor, tried, all morning, through dialogue and discussion, to gradually remove this blocking point. Faced with the aggressiveness of certain individuals (…) who bombarded them with projectiles, the gendarmes used force”said the prefecture in a press release.

The protesters had installed this dam as part of an operation called “dead island”, denouncing in particular “the violence carried out by [les policiers de la] CRS 8 » Monday towards activists against the high cost of living blocking an important road in Lamentin. Several snail operations were carried out on the island’s roads before converging on the city center of Fort-de-France shortly before midday, noted an AFP journalist.

The movement against the high cost of living, a recurring theme in the French West Indies, was launched at the beginning of September by the Rally for the Protection of Afro-Caribbean Peoples and Resources (RPPRAC), which demands alignment with France in the prices of food products. , which are 40% more expensive in Martinique.

Four round tables have been organized by the authorities since the start of the crisis, without a satisfactory outcome for the protesters. A fifth is planned for Thursday in order to “present the action plan” authorities, announced the prefecture.