(Fort-de-France) Attempted fire at a town hall in Guadeloupe, roadblocks in Martinique and Saint-Martin: the situation was still tense in the French Antilles on the last day of the visit of the Minister for Overseas France, Sébastien Lecornu, who was open to the application of the vaccine obligation, already postponed to December 31.
Arrived Monday evening in Martinique, second and last stage of a short stay intended to ease tensions and get out of the social crisis in the French West Indies, the minister met at the prefecture a delegation of 20 trade unionists and local elected officials, after Similar discussions the day before in Guadeloupe came to an end.
In Pointe-à-Pitre, the minister had judged that no discussion was possible as long as the unions did not condemn the “assassination attempts against police officers and gendarmes”.
In Fort-de-France, the outcome was different, the member of the government showing himself open to an “adaptation of the application of the law” of the vaccination obligation, which was initially to apply on November 15 in the West Indies , day when the general strike began in Guadeloupe.
Born from the refusal of this vaccination obligation for caregivers and firefighters, the movement has spread to political and social demands, in particular against the high cost of living, causing violence, looting and fires and then reaching Martinique where the protest began on November 22 . The two islands are placed under curfew.
Friday, Mr. Lecornu and his colleague from Health Olivier Véran had announced to postpone to December 31, 2021 the “finalization of the implementation of the vaccination obligation” for Guadeloupe and Martinique.
But “I do not see how on December 31, we will be able to accept the vaccination obligation as it is today”, underlined Tuesday at the exit of the meeting Serge Letchimy, president of the executive council of Martinique, because “we will not reach a level that allows continuity of care ”.
“The minister understood that our specificity must be taken into account in this question of vaccination obligation”, rejoiced on the steps of the prefecture Bertrand Cambusy, secretary general of the CSTM, union at the origin of the call for a general strike, which spoke as spokesperson for the intersyndicale.
Before the meeting, around 120 people had gathered in front of the prefecture, after a relatively calm night on the island. However, roadblocks were erected, especially on the highway, cutting the island in two, and a postal processing center located in a district of Fort-de-France was vandalized, said La Poste, which deplores the deterioration of ‘part of the packages.
An AFP journalist noted the presence of burnt cars and overturned on a roadblock at the roundabout of Mahault, in the town of Lamentin, with about ten people present on the spot.
Resumption of blockages in Saint-Martin
In Guadeloupe, the town hall of Basse-Terre was the target of an outbreak of fire, which was quickly brought under control. In the same sector, the prefecture has announced that it will ban gatherings of more than six people in Rivière-des-Pères, where the gendarmes have raised a roadblock.
“Dams are currently installed on the roads of Guadeloupe”, however indicated the prefecture in the same press release. Earlier in the day, the access to Mare-Gaillard on Grande-Terre, between Le Gosier and Saint-François, was again completely blocked by a hermetic dam even though it had been clear for several days.
And in Baie-Mahault, the situation was uncertain in the vast commercial area of Jarry that the police were trying to secure, the day after Mr. Lecornu announced the dispatch of a squadron of 70 mobile gendarmes. and 10 additional GIGN members.
In Saint-Martin, another French territory in the West Indies facing a social movement for a few weeks, roadblocks again disrupted traffic on Tuesday after three weeks of lull, and businesses were attacked.
In Paris, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin reaffirmed the government’s position of refusing to “debate with people” refusing to condemn violence against the police.
“The vast majority of Guadeloupeans do not support this movement of protest against thugs,” he said to the Assembly, stressing the record of the government which “has put an end to the difficulty of supplying water in Guadeloupe ”or“ paid 1.5 billion euros ”to fight against COVID-19 on the island.
At the same time, the prefecture of Guadeloupe announced the monthly revision of the prices of fuels and gas, one of the objects of the social movement: super unleaded up by two cents per liter, diesel down by two cents, maximum price of ‘a bottle of gas down 1.26 euros.
The prefecture of Martinique had announced identical developments on Monday.