Calls for blockades continued to resonate during this weekend in Martinique, while the curfew on the island is due to end this Monday, October 21. Despite an initial agreement signed with the French state, 2,000 demonstrators gathered on Saturday in Fort-de-France to protest against the high cost of living.
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If an agreement was signed on Wednesday October 16 in the evening by most of the parties involved in the negotiations, including the distributors, a key signature was missing: that of the Rally for the Protection of Afro-Caribbean Peoples and Resources (RPPRAC). Since Saturday, and through the voice of its leader Rodrigue Petitot, this collective, not satisfied, has called to new blockages on the island from this Monday.
The compromise defended by the State announces an average reduction of 20% in prices on more than 6,000 food products. In response, the RPPRAC is encouraging the population to demand a reduction in the prices of all products, i.e. nearly 40,000 references. Food prices are on average 40% more expensive in Martinique that in France hexagonal.
This organization is at the origin of the protest movement which has spread across Martinique since the beginning of September. She demands more efforts from the government and calls for the visit of the Minister of OverseasFrançois-Noël Buffet, on the island. After demonstrations sometimes punctuated by violent actions, a first partial curfew was established on September 18.
For Martinican New Popular Front MP Jiovanni William, who also did not sign it, the protocol must go further: “ We must move forward and ensure that, from this protocol, a much more binding legislative report can result, and that this is set in stone. So that there is more equality, competition and less social and economic inequalities throughout the Republic. » He adds: “ All I want is for there to be no human tragedy, for us to stop the looting, to stop destroying productive resources. This is not doing a service, neither to the population, nor to our economy, nor to our local production. »
“ Many businesses are out of business, many people are unemployed, this situation cannot last », concludes Jiovanni William.
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