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Calm began to return on November 28 to the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, the scene of violent protests in the last two weeks after the Government of Emmanuel Macron proposed mandatory vaccination for all health personnel. The French Minister of Overseas Territories, Sébastien Lecornu, traveled in the last hours to the two islands to try to defuse tensions.
A “call to resistance” to the health pass unleashed the worst riots in recent times on the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.
Now, with the return of relative calm, the French Minister of Overseas Territories, Sébastien Lecornu, traveled to the islands to deepen discussions with local officials and unions on measures to mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We did not set a calendar, we think that we will return to Paris without necessarily having resolved the entire crisis, but if we take things from end to end, methodically, it will calm down and there will be a constructive dialogue with all those involved,” said the Lecornu delegation.
The French Minister for Overseas Territories, Sébastien Lecornu, immediately travels to Guadeloupe and Martinique to defuse weeks of tensions and protests https://t.co/A3Yow3GvHx
— EP International (@EPinternacional) November 28, 2021
In an attempt to calm the situation, the Ministry of Health announced on Friday, November 26, that it was postponing to December 31 “the completion of the implementation of the vaccination obligation” in Martinique and Guadeloupe.
The announcement of Paris caused a reduction in the unrest. However, hours later some looting continued in the capital of Martinique.
The protests against mandatory inoculation for health workers also opened the stage for residents to express other disagreements, for which they demanded an increase in wages and a reduction in gasoline prices.
A historical distrust, the obstacle to vaccination against Covid-19 in Guadeloupe and Martinique
Local authorities have long asked the French Government to open a dialogue on vaccination against Covid-19, a sensitive issue for the populations of these overseas territories, as they continue to be marked by the contamination scandal by chlordecone, a pesticide very toxic and carcinogenic, present in soil, water and the blood of people and animals.
Situation out of control last night in #Martinique. Numerous dams set on fire and clashes on the island while the Prefecture has since yesterday instituted a curfew for an indefinite period in the face of the intensification of the dams against the #Health Pass and dear life. pic.twitter.com/odZvw5lzmZ
– Anonymous Citizen (@AnonymeCitoyen) November 26, 2021
This toxic pesticide permanently contaminated the soil after being used, between 1972 and 1993, in Guadeloupe and Martinique in banana plantations to fight the weevil, an insect that ravages crops, and is now suspected of being responsible for many diseases, including cancer.
Mandatory vaccination for health workers, a measure in force in mainland France, rekindled criticism on the islands with a majority African population that sees the imposition of antidotes as a throwback to the era of slavery.
A debate opens on the autonomy of Guadeloupe
After the outbreak of violence and the questions, Lecornu indicated that he is willing to initiate discussions on the autonomy of the territory. However, he clarified that it would not be a complete dissolution of ties with Paris.
“Autonomy is certainly not independence: it already exists for certain overseas communities to varying degrees, the most advanced model being, for example, Polynesia,” the minister explained.
The official confirmed that the compulsory vaccination law is the responsibility of the State, for which he recalled that Guadeloupe and Martinique are French departments. However, he pointed out that given the requests for the rule not to be applied in these territories, he will not reject a debate on autonomy.
With Reuters and EFE
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