They had announced a dead day. It is finally demonstrations of tension which enamelled this January 20. The collective of organizations in struggle was mobilized to block the entire archipelago. The situation degenerated at the end of the morning in Les Abymes.
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Very tense atmosphere at Les Abymes. The mobilization of the collective of associations in the fight against the vaccination obligation took turns of urban guerrilla warfare, this Thursday, January 20.
This morning, demonstrators tried to move towards the commercial center of Milenis where their picket was installed but gendarmes intercepted them before their point of arrival.
Gaby Clavier, UTS-UGTG spokesperson
Maïté M’Toumo, general secretary of the UGTG
Pretending to turn back, the demonstrators found themselves in Vieux-Bourg shortly after 1:30 p.m. For their part, the police arrived from Morne Caruel and Morne Vergain to encourage them to retreat.
An action which gave rise to an altercation between demonstrators and the police where throwing of projectiles, tear gas and dams were legion. Cornered, the demonstrators left the bottom of Morne Caruel to pass in front of the Cour Montbruno, then the roundabout Miquel and after crossing the avenue Légitimus, they took the direction of the CHU. Always repelled by the police, they then head, as the previous week, to the Chauvel bridge where they occupy the two lanes of the ring road. This is where they choose to resist the onslaught of law enforcement for as long as possible.
Maïté M’Toumo, general secretary of the UGTG
At the end of the day, the Prefecture reported that a gendarme was shot and wounded during one of the interventions carried out by the police.
Despite these heated altercations, the collective ensures to remain mobilized and to perpetuate the movement or even to amplify it from next week.