New night of violence in Guadeloupe, in the grip of a major social movement

Published on : 11/21/2021 – 3:15 PM

The night of Saturday, November 20 to Sunday, November 21 remained agitated in Guadeloupe, which has been facing a large-scale social movement for a week, between fires and looting which resulted in 37 arrests during the night.

“Our area was marked by looting of shops, especially in the town of Lamentin where a small shopping center was attacked with a backhoe loader,” AFP learned from the Guadeloupe gendarmerie command.

The government spokesman, Gabriel Attal, denounced Sunday morning an “intolerable and unacceptable” situation in Guadeloupe, where the challenge to the vaccination obligation of caregivers degenerates into blockages and violence.

According to Gabriel Attal, the reinforcements of police and gendarmes sent from mainland France, in particular units of the GIGN and the Raid, must arrive on Sunday in the island.

In several towns on the island, food stores were looted, as well as pharmacies. “Each time, a barricade placed upstream prevented us from moving forward”, according to the gendarmes who also testify to suspicion of “false calls to lure us elsewhere, just like the firefighters”. In the town of Morne-à-l’Eau, a police station was set on fire.

Roadblocks, looting and fires

“The Côte-sous-le-vent was a particularly active point”, according to the command of the gendarmerie of Guadeloupe, which reports roadblocks of all sizes in this area of ​​the island, rather calm in general.

“37 people were arrested and taken into custody,” according to a police source, “most of them in the act of looting” shops or restaurants. A workforce of about 200 people was distributed in the central area of ​​the island, to face the “very numerous” flaming dams all night long, but also ambushes.

“There were shots directed against the intervention forces, in particular during the attempted attack on the municipal police in Gosier”. In total, more than 150 tear gas and de-encircling grenades were thrown by the police.

Guadeloupe, plagued by roadblocks and riots for several days, is under a curfew that runs until Tuesday morning, from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Sunday morning, roadblocks were still listed at several points on the island.

With AFP