The prefect of Guadeloupe announced, on Monday, September 23, a curfew for minors in seven sectors of the island during “Limiting juvenile delinquency” due to “urban violence” which have been taking place in the department since September 18.
doThis measure, which came into effect on Monday, applies from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time (5:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.), applies in “the sectors of Boucan and Bébel in Sainte-Rose; the neighborhoods of Poucet and Mare-Gaillard in Gosier; the districts of Lauricisque and Changy in Pointe-à-Pitre; the Boisripeaux neighborhood in Les Abymes”, Prefect Xavier Lefort explained in a press release. He did not specify until what date this curfew would last.
The prefectural decree states that “Barricades, roadblocks, radar gunshots”. Besides, “During this violence, internal security forces were victims of stone and Molotov cocktail throwing”depending on the prefecture.
Looting in Sainte-Rose
This is particularly the case in the Boucan area in Sainte-Rose, where several shops were looted during the night from Sunday to Monday by “gangs of young people, hooded, impossible to identify”Agence France-Presse learned this from the gendarmerie. This sector had experienced the biggest and longest barrier during the 2021 riots, particularly against health measures linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Since the beginning of this urban violence, the detainees have mostly been minors”including one aged 12 and two aged 16 and 17, according to the prefecture.
Minors must be accompanied by their parents or a guardian to go out during the curfew, the prefecture added.
No demands seem to surround this urban violence. Less than 200 kilometres to the south, the island of Martinique is experiencing similar scenes but in the context of a mobilisation against the high cost of living.
