Arrested on November 12 in Fort-de-France, Rodrigue Petitot, leader of the movement against the high cost of living in Martinique, was released and placed under judicial supervision on Thursday afternoon, his lawyers announced to the Agence France-Presse.
The president of the Assembly for the Protection of Afro-Caribbean Peoples and Resources (RPPRAC) must be tried on Friday, after the immediate appearance procedure, before the criminal court of Fort-de-France.
The courts accuse him of having entered the prefectural residence without authorization on Monday night and of having committed acts of intimidation against people exercising a public function.
New demonstrations after Petitot’s arrest
The Martinican activist and three other people had attempted to meet François-Noël Buffet, the foreign minister, who was traveling to Martinique this week. Jean-Christophe Bouvier, prefect of Martinique, intervened to prevent this meeting. The attitude of the collective leaders was “unacceptable, unimaginable, intolerable”according to Mr. Bouvier.
The arrest of Rodrigue Petitot sparked new demonstrations on the Antilles island on November 12, causing riots in which three gendarmes were slightly injured, according to a report from the prefecture. That night there were six lootings of businesses and eight arrests, according to the same source.
Since September, Martinique has been affected by a movement against the high cost of living – according to INSEE, food products are on average 40% more expensive than in France – which has partly caused urban riots and violence, mainly due to the night.
