A crane truck lifts a charred corpse at the entrance to a roundabout on Avenue Maurice-Bishop, the main thoroughfare in Fort-de-France that runs through the working-class Sainte-Thérèse district. Once this almost unrecognisable Peugeot has been removed from the road, all that remains is to clean up the charred remains that still cover the asphalt and this intersection will be passable again.
After the start of clean-up operations in Sainte-Thérèse on Monday 23 September, many stigmata still bear witness to the urban violence that, for several nights, sowed desolation in this sensitive sector of the Martinique capital and in some neighbouring districts, on the sidelines of a protest movement against the high cost of living.
For affected local residents, it’s time to seek relief. “It feels good. We regained hope”Jessica, 21, rejoices as she walks her brother home from college after finishing classes. For the past week, the resident of the nearby Dillon neighborhood has been forced to walk along this long avenue to get to work. Because of the blockades imposed by the rioters, public transportation is paralyzed on this crucial axis leading to the highway and the airport. “I understand anger, but there is another way to express it”the young woman argues.
During the day on Monday, on this avenue, “About ten burnt vehicles were removed”said Didier Laguerre, mayor of Fort-de-France. The technical services of the municipality and several other communities also removed “lighting and signaling masts” placed on the other side of the road, adds the councillor. The operation, potentially a source of new tensions, finally took place calmly, thanks to a “mediation” from the town hall to the residents of the neighborhood and “all the actors”Mr. Laguerre continues.
Reinforcement
The first riots broke out in Sainte-Thérèse, the day after the launch of a protest movement against the high cost of living in Martinique, initiated by the Réunion pour la protection des études réssources afro-Caribbeans (RPPRAC). This group, very active on social networks, had called for demonstrations in front of shopping centres from 1Ahem September. After a period of calm, the violence resumed on the evening of 12 September and worsened in the following nights, spreading to several other municipalities on the island of 350,000 inhabitants. According to the prefecture, about 40 companies were victims of attempted looting and as many vehicles were set on fire.
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