A partial renewable curfew has been established in France’s overseas region of Martinique in the Caribbean amid protests about the high cost of living there.
Since the start of the protests in early September, the prosecutor’s office has announced 15 arrests and reported 11 injuries among police officers.
“To continue efforts to secure property and individuals led by state services and internal security forces, the police commissioner has decided to temporarily prohibit the movement of people in certain neighbourhoods of Fort-de-France [capital] and Lamentin [city],” the police department announced on September 18.
Despite the curfew, running from 9pm to 5am, tensions are still high across the 1,128 km² Caribbean island.
On the night of September 18, several blazing roadblocks in some areas of Fort-de-France and other towns plus key strategic locations across the island were reported.
? #Martinique : Point sur les blocages le 19/09 à 03h35 :
– Giratoire de Brasserie Lorraine (Lamentin)
– Giratoire de Pelletier (Lamentin)
– Giratoire de Jeanne d’Arc (Lamentin)
– Giratoire de Rivière-Salée (RN5)
– Bourg du Marin https://t.co/tpZueOURc6 pic.twitter.com/MrzL4Jybg8— Resca MQ/GP (@resca_mqgp) September 19, 2024
Didier Laguerre, the mayor of Fort-de-France, where the curfew has been imposed, condemned the violence.
“I will continue to condemn the use of violence, whatever the cause. Violence is not the way to solve problems. In the best interests of the people of Martinique, we must be able to work together to find a solution to the problem of the high cost of living,” he said on September 18.
The conflict has been escalating since the summer as activists have been calling for the cost of living to match prices in mainland France, particularly for essential items such as food.
Rodrigue Petitot, leader of the Movement for the Protection of Afro-Caribbean Peoples and Resources (RPPRAC), said: “We’ve been issuing injunctions since July, on July 1 to be precise, asking supermarkets to bring their prices into line with those in mainland France.
“We are French, we have the same national identity cards, the same fines, the same taxes if not more taxes, so we don’t understand why we can’t have the same prices for food”, said Petitot, nicknamed “the R” on the island.
According to the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), in Martinique, food stuffs are 40 per cent more expensive than in mainland France and telecommunication services are 37 per cent higher.
The higher prices on the island are the result of the purchase costs in France, followed by transportation, dock dues — a specific tax on imports to overseas territories— and the distributors’ mark-up.
In an attempt to fight the high cost of living, Serge Letchimy, president of the Executive Council of Martinique, on September 11 proposed the withdrawal of dock dues on several thousand products sold on the island.
The loss of tax revenue resulting from such a withdrawal of dock dues has been estimated at €5.9 million.
The proposal must now be examined and possibly approved at the Executive Council plenary session on October 3.
