Haiti was preparing under high security, Thursday, July 22, the funeral of President Jovenel Moïse, 15 days after his assassination which further plunged the country into uncertainty.
It also resurfaced historical tensions within the population.
Shot dead at the age of 53 by an armed commando, the head of state will be buried Friday in Cap-Haitien, the northern metropolis of his native region.
Haiti's second city woke up calmly on Thursday.
But the day before, clashes broke out due to the presence on site of the director general of the national police, Léon Charles.
The police chief was heckled as he inspected the security devices installed for the funeral.
He did not take part on Thursday morning in a requiem mass celebrated in the cathedral, the tribute ceremonies taking place over several days.
Tensions between North and West
Locals accuse him of having failed to protect President Moïse, the child of the country, whose assassination was carried out in the middle of the night, with an apparent passivity of the agents supposed to monitor his home.
Haiti is plagued by insecurity and the law of gangs, a scourge that worsened under the mandate of Jovenel Moïse.
The Haitian police released photos of Léon Charles visiting the esplanade where the national funeral will take place, on the edge of which a large covered platform was being built.
The death of Jovenel Moïse has resurfaced the historical tensions between the North of Haiti and the West, where the capital, Port-au-Prince is located.
And in particular the old antagonism between the two components of the Haitian population: the blacks descendants of slaves, further north, and the mestizos that one called "mulattos", more in the south and the west.
Northerners recall that Jovenel Moïse is the fifth head of state from the North to have been killed in the West, after Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Cincinnatus Leconte, Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, and Sylvain Salnave.
Some accuse the Haitians of the West of having carried out these assassinations.
"I pray that justice will be done to him"
Local residents have erected barricades on the national roads leading to Cap-Haitien in order, they say, to prevent people from Port-au-Prince from coming to attend the funeral.
Carine, a believer met near the church, confided that she wanted justice to be done for the president: "His assassination saddens me a lot. I pray for his soul. I pray that justice be done to him".
A march was planned after mass.
"After his assassination, we understand better his importance. We understand his projects for the underprivileged masses," said Petit D'or, a former employee of an NGO, converted into a motorcycle taxi driver.
In Port-au-Prince, several separate tribute ceremonies were also held this week in memory of the assassinated president.
One of them took place in the presence of Ariel Henry, the new Prime Minister who took office on Tuesday, promising to restore order in order to organize elections demanded by the population and the international community.
"France reiterates the importance that reliable legislative and presidential elections can be held as soon as the conditions are met," said the spokeswoman for the French Foreign Ministry on Thursday.
An importance also reaffirmed Thursday by the United States, which on Thursday appointed diplomat Daniel Foote emissary for Haiti, in charge of "facilitating peace and stability" and the holding of "free and fair" elections.
Ariel Henry has promised to bring the murderers of Jovenel Moïse to justice.
Haitian police have so far arrested around 20 Colombian mercenaries and claim to have uncovered a plot organized by a group of Haitians with foreign links.
But many gray areas remain.
With AFP
The summary of the week
France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 application
google-play-badge_FR