Violent protests erupt

The French Overseas Caribbean Territory of Martinique was quieter on Monday than a few days ago when violent protests erupted over what residents call a continuing cycle of rising food and other prices.

Residents blamed authorities in mainland France for doing nothing about the rise in the cost of living over the past year and have taken to the streets to air their concerns and vent their anger.

Security and other officials on the island near St. Vincent and Dominica remained on full alert on Monday, fearing that last week’s full-fledged riots might well flare up again, especially since France has deployed the feared and much hated anti-riot special police squad to quell street protests, clashes with police, looting, arson attacks against car parks and injuries to nearly 20 police officers, some from gunshot wounds.

The main political beef is with the alleged indifference of authorities in Paris to the rise in inflation and the plight of islanders. Protest leaders argue that prices for items like milk and meat have increased by 40 percent in the last year, and no one has done anything about it, while salaries and wages remain largely stagnant.

The situation reached a boiling point at the weekend when hundreds of angry residents tried to break into the island’s lone airport and occupy the runway. They upped the pressure on authorities in Paris to do something about the rising cost of living in Martinique, which has an estimated population of 350,000.

The protests had forced the cancellation of flights, leaving about 1000 passengers stranded as officials shuttered the airport and diverted flights to nearby Guadeloupe, also a French overseas territory.

More than a dozen police officers have been hurt during a week of unrest, including six who were hit by bullets. Police have reported one death so far. Periodic bouts of protests have been ongoing since early last month but have boiled over in the past week into full-fledged rioting.

Adding fuel to the fire, the government in France deployed the feared and dreaded special anti-riot police to Martinique in the first such move in six decades, fueling even greater levels of anger.

Some, mostly Afro-Martinican human rights activists, have been clamoring for better living conditions and have been attempting to engage with the 15-nation Caribbean Community to garner regional support for their plight.

Residents of Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and other French territories in the Caribbean are treated as full-fledged French citizens with voting rights, but the persistent complaint is that no one in Paris listens to the clamor for betterment from these territories.

The latest round of protests has come just three years after similar eruptions in Martinique and Guadeloupe over French mandates for compulsory vaccinations for health workers.

Paris had also been pushing locals to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as less than half of the population had made themselves available to be inoculated by health officials. As is the case in 2021, French authorities were forced to impose a curfew to quell the protests in an attempt to restore order.

Meanwhile, Didier Laguerre, the mayor of Fort-de-France, the capital, said over the weekend that inflation is a cause for concern and that too many people are struggling to cope.

“I understand the suffering and anger. I know everyone’s impatience and the resignation of those who have lost hope for a long time.”

It is unclear if and when many stores that had been looted in recent days will reopen, as tensions remain high and authorities expect the situation to flare up again.

Expressing concerns about American citizens on the island, the U.S. Embassy in nearby Barbados issued a travel advisory at the weekend urging U.S. citizens in Martinique to check with local authorities regarding the current security situation, specific areas impacted by the curfew and whether any travel during the hours of the curfew could fall under one of the exceptions. Avoid large public gatherings, and maintain constant awareness of your surroundings.

Pay attention to changes to security in your area. Avoid wearing jewelry or displaying cash, ”the mission said, noting the level of looting, arson attacks, roadblocks, and street demonstrations.”

The government ordered schools and some government departments closed as angry protestors set fire to several car parks and a few barricades.