Anger does not weaken in Guadeloupe and Martinique. New riots took place during the night of Friday 26 to Saturday 27 November in these two territories of the Antilles. According to the prefect of Guadeloupe, businesses have been vandalized, in particular with a backhoe loader, and attempted fires have been recorded. The police were the target of gunfire, but no injuries were to be deplored. Four new arrests took place during the night and will be the subject of judicial treatment, specifies the prefect.
In Basse-Terre, the roads are still very difficult to access on Saturday and motorists have trouble getting around, reports La 1ère. Dozens of people gathered in the district of Grand Camp, in Abymes, and cut down palm trees using electric saws to block the road, notes Guadeloupe La 1ère.
In Fort-de-France, Martinique, gendarmes were also injured, especially in the face, by lead shots, according to the prosecutor’s office in the Martinican capital. Burning vehicles were thrown at the police at roundabouts.
Garbage fires took place in Saint-Pierre, in front of the church or in front of the museum, among others, Pointe Martinique La 1ère. A radar was set on fire in Le Morne Red. A post office was shoveled and a gas station was broken into and then set on fire. Nine people were arrested and taken into police custody for aggravated thefts, according to the prosecution.
Guadeloupe and Martinique, 120 km from each other, are experiencing a major protest movement, born from the refusal of the vaccination obligation for caregivers and firefighters, which has turned into a social crisis.
In 2020, in Martinique, the unemployment rate stood at 12.4%, or 4.4 points more than in France. The median standard of living of the population is 17% lower than the national level, the poverty rate (29.8%) almost twice as high.
Guadeloupe, where a third of the population lives below the poverty line, has an unemployment rate of 19%.