The leader of the movement against the high cost of living in Martinique and eleven police officers were injured on Monday, October 7, in Lamentin, Martinique, during clashes between police and activists on one of the island’s main roads, the prefecture announced. The prefecture and the Demonstration for the Protection of Afro-Caribbean Peoples and Resources, the origin of the purchasing power protest movement, offer different versions of the events.
“After the call” As usual, the prefecture states in a statement published on its Facebook page, the police intervened to ” release “ the Mahault roundabout, in Lamentin, occupied by about fifty people, seven heavy vehicles, two vehicles “out of use” and construction equipment. The police suffered “violent attacks” During this intervention, the statement continues, cleaning stones and bottles.
“Faced with such behavior, the internal security forces used force, dispersed the crowd and arrested five people”the prefecture reported.
Prices 40% more expensive in Martinique
Rodrigue Petitot, president of the Demonstration for the Protection of Afro-Caribbean Peoples and Resources (RPPRAC), was injured in the confrontation.
“We confirm that our president Rodrigue Petitot, known as “la R”, was chased and wounded in the hand and leg”The RPPRAC reacted in a press release, denouncing the “police repression” of “Peaceful Martinicans”. The group reported that two activists were taken into police custody.
A movement against the high cost of living, a recurring theme in the French Antilles, was launched at the beginning of September by the RPPRAC, which demands an alignment with France of the prices of food products, 40% more expensive in Martinique.
Aside from this movement, the island was shaken by urban violence that led the prefecture to establish a night curfew in certain districts of Fort-de-France and in the neighboring commune of Lamentin.
The authorities have organized four round tables since the beginning of the crisis, without a satisfactory result for the protesters. A fifth, which was to be held on Monday, was postponed indefinitely.
