In Guadeloupe, the simple general strike gave way to urban violence. The protest began a week ago with a strike against the "health pass" and the vaccination obligation for caregivers, launched by a collective of trade union and citizen organizations. The movement degenerated, giving way to roadblocks, looting and fires. How to explain this eruption of violence? This "explosive" situation, as President Emmanuel Macron described it on Monday, is, according to several observers, the expression of a social crisis with deep roots in Guadeloupe. 

As of Monday, dams were still in progress on the island. The night from Sunday to Monday was quieter than the previous one. The mobilization of the police "made it possible to prevent, in town centers and in rural areas, the majority of attempts to regroup and attack property," noted the prefecture. However, "abuses continue to target food businesses" and "degrade traffic routes", according to the same source, and 11 arrests were made.

In an attempt to avoid future riots, a curfew was imposed Friday from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. (local time) until Tuesday. The government also sent 200 police and gendarmes, as well as 50 members of the GIGN and Raid units, bringing the forces mobilized there to 2,250. Schools have also been closed since Friday. 

After the call for an indefinite general strike, opposition to health restrictions quickly became a pretext to highlight social and economic issues.

"You know that with this health situation, Guadeloupe has lost a lot, whether in terms of tax on fuel, transport, communities, and in particular for the Region, it is nearly 30 million that we have lost, "said the president of the Guadeloupe Region, Ary Chalus, on Wednesday at the microphone of France Info.

Almost half as many vaccinated as in France

"The feeling of deep dysfunction of the welfare state and the public service in Guadeloupe plays a role in the perception of health policy. This seems authoritarian, so a large part of the population perceives this vaccination obligation as punitive", explains Pierre Odin, political scientist and lecturer in political science at the University of the Antilles, contacted by France 24.

All the more so, since, according to data from the ARS dating from last Tuesday, the vaccination rate is high among caregivers: in public health structures, between 85% and 100% of nursing staff are vaccinated. On the other hand, within the population, the vaccination rate is much lower. Only 46.43% of people over 18 are vaccinated. By comparison, throughout France, vaccination affects nearly 89% of the population, according to health authorities. 

The state of a breathless health system only exacerbates this distrust of the authorities. In 2017, the Pointe-à-Pitre / Les Abymes University Hospital was devastated by a fire. He has since faced chronic difficulties. And the Covid-19 epidemic, which also hit Guadeloupe hard this summer, has worsened them. Caregivers complain of lacking human and material resources.

In addition, "transfers of patients between departments are not as common as in France," says Justin Daniel, professor of political science at the University of the West Indies.

Faced with a dilapidated health system, "there are, overseas, people who feel abandoned and part of the population feels left behind," explains Pierre Odin.

And the specialist to add: "This situation maintains the idea that there is unequal treatment between France and the Overseas, that this pandemic only reveals this situation." 

>> See also: Containment in the West Indies: a blow to tourism

This feeling of injustice also finds its origins in several health scandals that have marked the West Indies. We can notably cite the case of chlordecone, a very toxic insecticide which was used until 1993 in banana plantations in Guadeloupe and Martinique to fight against an insect, the black weevil. After contaminating the soil, it is now suspected of having caused many diseases, including prostate cancer. And for Justin Daniel, "the State has not shown great efficiency in the face of the chlordecone scandal and in the fight against Sargassum strandings". For the past ten years, these algae have washed up on the coasts of Guadeloupe and Martinique and release nauseating gases that are harmful to health. 

A "very unequal" society 

But the crisis goes beyond these health scandals and the lack of means in hospitals "It takes place against a backdrop that reveals a social malaise", deplores Justin Daniel, who describes a Guadeloupe society "very unequal" with "young people who do not 'have no future prospects ".

Guadeloupe, in fact, has a very high unemployment rate.

In 2020, it stood at 17% and one in three young workers was unemployed, according to INSEE. The standard of living is also much lower than in mainland France. According to the latest figures from INSEE, in 2017, 34% of the population lived below the national poverty line (which corresponds to 1010 euros per month and per unit of consumption) while it was set at 14% in the hexagon. 

The cultural heritage of the West Indies also plays a role in this conflagration and mistrust of public authorities. The feeling of abandonment of the state is part of a deep history. "For a long time the state was seen as a miracle worker. In this post-slavery society, a lot was expected of him," recalls Justin Daniel. Today, things have changed. Guadeloupeans want to assert their differences shaped by a painful past. "The identity dimension is central in the demands of the population. The State is perceived as a kind of foreign body embodied by a prefect who comes from outside. In this context, public speech no longer has the same force. She is demonetized, "continues the professor of political science.

For Justin Daniel, vaccine mistrust is linked to this need to highlight this culture and this history specific to the West Indies. "Many think that the identity barrier is more effective than conventional medicine. As the vaccine comes from outside the territory, some have preferred to resort to the local pharmacopoeia to protect themselves from Covid-19", he explains. 

The crisis, which appears to be latent, ended up exploding, completely fed up with the health situation. Something to worry about the head of state, who called for calm on Monday. "We can not use the health of French women and men to wage political battles" and "it is necessary that" public order is maintained ", underlined Emmanuel Macron. In an emergency, a meeting has, moreover, was organized Monday evening between Jean Castex and elected officials from Guadeloupe.

At the end of this meeting, the Prime Minister announced the creation of a "forum of dialogue" in order to "convince and support individually, humanely" the professionals concerned by the vaccination obligation.

A necessary measure, at a time when the tension is also rising in Martinique.

"Here too, we are not immune to very strong tensions," says Justin Daniel.

In Martinique, an indefinite strike must begin Monday to end the health pass and the vaccination obligation for health personnel.

Blockages paralyzed much of economic activity on Monday, and demonstrators marched through the streets of Fort de France. 

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