Crisis in the West Indies: Guadeloupe and Martinique find a semblance of calm
Police officers manage traffic on the road in Le Gosier in Guadeloupe on November 21, 2021 (illustrative image).
AP - Elodie Soupama
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The restoration of public order in Guadeloupe and Martinique, affected for two weeks by social movements, "is
progressing strongly
", said Wednesday, December 1, the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin at the end of the visit of his colleague from Overseas Sébastien Lecornu.
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If for Gérald Darmanin, the return to public order "is
progressing strongly
" in the West Indies, Sébastien Lecornu told him Wednesday in the Senate "
completely available to move forward for Guadeloupe
",
where his visit was cut short,
within the framework a debate in the Senate on "
the economic, social and health situation in the overseas territories
" largely devoted to the crisis in the West Indies.
Thanks to the sending of "
5 UFM
(Mobile Force Units)
for each of the two islands
" and the reinforcement "
of the elite units of the Raid and the GIGN,
(...)
after 8 days, obviously the recovery of this public order is progressing, and is progressing strongly on the two islands
”, declared the Minister of the Interior during the session of questions to the government of the Senate.
On the spot, the prefecture of Guadeloupe reported "
some additional attempts to install dams
" but these, "
with the exception of Petit-Canal, have been cleared and no longer impede traffic
".
Three people were arrested during the night, said the prefecture, welcoming the "
gradual reopening of the roads
".
A fragile calm
The very fluid situation around these dams, unblocked one day but being able to be erected again the next day, makes any counting difficult.
But according to testimonies from residents, traffic was almost clear Wednesday afternoon between Pointe-à-Pitre and the city of Basse-Terre, a road previously blocked by many roadblocks.
In Martinique,
the situation was fragile
in the port of Fort-de-France where the police "allowed the lifting of the dam" at a strategic roundabout, according to the prefecture.
But according to a member of the inter-union interviewed by AFP, the intervention of the police came to question their intention to relax the blockade of the port.
►Also read: Crisis in the West Indies: "It is a trigger for a deeper crisis"
This lull, already noticeable the day before, coincides with the end of Tuesday of Sébastien Lecornu's short stay, one day in each island, intended to ease tensions and get out of the crisis in the French West Indies, born from the refusal of the compulsory vaccination for caregivers. and firefighters and which has extended to political and social demands, in particular against the high cost of living.
I think it's important to understand the people there.
I regularly visit my family in Guadeloupe.
In fact, I don't have water at home.
I am still young.
But, people who are old, who have to go to the river or who have to stock up.
Then, all these cases of prostate cancer due to this pesticide and to say that nothing has been done, nothing has really been confessed to say that "yes, we surely screwed up", "yes, we must recognize it ”,“ yes, we have to have an exchange ”.
And what are we doing today?
We are told that we are sending soldiers.
People need to be listened to, to be understood, and for there to be a consensus, for there to be actions, to be able to move forward.
Laura Georges, general secretary of the French football federation and from Guadeloupe
(
with AFP
)
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