Protests Continue in France’s Martinique Island Despite Curfew
Car burned in the streets of French colonial island of Martinique. Photo: X/ @TOPXNews
September 21, 2024 Hour: 4:42 pm
In the French oversea island of Martinique, the officials have implemented a curfew from 9 pm to 5 am in parts of the capital to control the protests erupted by the rising poverty and living cost, but the demostrations continue.
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Jean-Christophe Bouvier, the France-appointed prefect’s office in that Caribbean territory said the curfew, lasting until September 23, “aims to safeguard the public and businesses and restore order.”
Several reports indicate that 14 people, including 11 police officers, have been injured at least, some of them of gunfire weapons, as alarming scenes of burning vehicles and destroyed buildings, with heavily armed riot police moving in.
Growing popular discontent is due to the high cost of living, where food prices are 40% higher than in mainland France.
The demonstrators, led by the Groupement pour la Protection des Peuples et Ressources Afrocaribeis (RPPRAC), are demanding that prices in Martinique be brought into line with those in France.
In the face of the refusal of supermarkets to comply with these demands, blockades and direct actions have gained ground and tensions have increased when one of the movement’s leaders, Rodrigue Petitot, was arrested, Which led to a strike by stevedores demanding their release.
Recently, cab drivers joined the demostrations, blocking some major highways in the island to show their dissatisfaction with the current economic situation.
Autor: ACJ
Fuente: teleSURtv.net // France 24 // Al Jazeera