Godissard district, Fort-de-France (Martinique), 27 November. Ripping out the Post Office ATM with a stolen digger, looting and then setting it on fire

New night of violence in Martinique
martinique la 1ere, 27 November 2021

5th night of violence in Martinique. The events were concentrated in Fort-de-France and in the north of the territory, from Friday 26 to Saturday 27 November 2021.

The most serious incidents concerned the city of Fort-de-France. During the night of Friday 26 to Saturday 27 November 2021, rioters attacked and destroyed the Godissard post office with a digger. “They took the cash dispenser of course. They broke it, took the money and set it on fire”, said a shocked resident.

Further on, the thugs attacked a petrol station to rob the shop…before setting it on fire.

Godissard (Martinique), 27 November. Looting of the Vito service station, before setting it on fire

In the rest of the city, rubbish bin fires were set in the Dillon, Terres Sainvilles, Redoute and Didier neighbourhoods. A vehicle was set on fire in the Batelière district, with the assistance of the police, as young people were ambushing the firemen with various projectiles.

Rubbish bin fires in Saint-Pierre, in front of the church and the museum, among others. A fire at a radar in Morne Rouge and a fire on the public highway in front of the town hall. According to our information, the headquarters of the Fort-de-France municipal police was broken into, “with thefts of weapons and scooters”, according to national police officers, who were themselves victims of gunfire, in Avenue Maurice Bishop and in Lamentin.

Fort-de-France (Martinique), 27 November. The premises of the municipal police on Boulevard Robert Attuly were broken into and looted.

Numerous targeted burglaries in the towns of Lamentin and Fort-de-France. An attempted robbery of an ATM in the Dillon district of Fort-de-France failed thanks to police intervention. Police say they have made 11 arrests.

Lamentin (Martinique), 27 November. Place d’Armes vocational school looted and its equipment used to set up barricades (above and below)

A vocational school in Lamentin was robbed. Numerous thefts were committed by individuals who broke into the buildings, stealing and ransacking the files of students and administrators. The police, alerted by the alarm, received projectiles and gunfire during the night. Tables and chairs from the school were even used to form barricades around the school. The headmistress, Mrs Merlini Marie-France, said: “This is a place of education for our young Martinicans, and it is distressing to see that computers, video projectors, files, reception, school life, administration and secretariat premises have been ransacked. (Zayactu, 27/11)

Martinique, map of barricades on 27 November 2021

In addition, the prefect of Guadeloupe “has decided to extend the curfew from 6pm to 5am until Monday 29 November 2021 at 5am”. On Thursday, the prefect of Martinique instituted a curfew “from 7pm to 5am until calm returns”. What began a few days ago in these two islands [French colonies] 120 km apart, born of the refusal of mandatory vaccination for nurses and firefighters, has turned into a social crisis with blockades and picketing that quickly degenerated into violence against the forces of order, fires and looting.
(Franceinfo, 27/11)

Finally, nine people were arrested on Saturday after a “new night of riots” in Martinique, during which four gendarmes were injured, particularly in the face, by gunfire, announced the public prosecutor’s office in Fort-de-France. Police officers were also targeted and burning vehicles were thrown at the police on roundabouts, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
(Reuters, 27/11)

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Even coffins and the decapitated bust of De Gaulle can be used to build barricades!
France Antilles, 27 November 2021

The bust of General de Gaulle stolen from Vert-Pré was found yesterday at the Mahault roundabout in Lamentin. The bust, which had stood in front of the Vert-Pré monument since 1978, was ripped from its base on Thursday night. This is not the first time that individuals have attacked this bust. In August 2020, during urban violence, this monument had already been damaged by several inscriptions in red and black paint, including “We are not French.”

Carrefour Mahault in Lamentin (Martinique), 27 November. Barricade made up of burnt-out cars and a coffin overhung by the torn-off bust of the statue of General De-Gaulle

Alex Gilbert Lézin, the president of the Gros Morne veterans, does not hide his anger and bitterness at this act. “I find it inadmissible that thugs have come to attack this bust. I really don’t understand this attitude”. Jean-Claude Lise, the president of the Trinité veterans, is also very angry: “It’s scandalous! It’s disgraceful! There is no word strong enough to describe this gesture! One thing is certain, there is no more respect or values in this modern world.”

Fort-de-France, 26 November. Looting of the Auchan supermarket in the Dillon district

Outbreak of urban violence on the night of Thursday 25 to Friday 26 November in Martinique
Martinique1ere, 26 November 2021

The night of Thursday 25 to Friday, November 26, 2021, was marked by numerous urban violence throughout Martinique. The night was very eventful, with looting of shops, projectiles being thrown and clashes between rioters and police.

There were several violent clashes between rioters and police. Individuals targeted the security forces with firearms. The gendarmes retaliated by firing flashbulbs and tear gas grenades.

Roadblocks were removed in Schoelcher, at the Ozanam roundabout, in Case-Pilote, Saint-Pierre and Saint-Joseph.

Schoelcher (Martinique), 26 November, roadblock on the Anse Gouraud roundabout

In a press release, the Fort-de-France public prosecutor’s office reported that during the night, a gendarmerie officer who was working with his colleagues on a burglary was violently hit by the looters’ vehicle. He was seriously injured and underwent surgery on Friday.

The gate of the prefect’s residence was set on fire by hooded individuals: the rapid intervention of police officers limited the damage.

Four journalists from the national press [BFM, AFP and Abaca Press] were shot at three times by men on motorbikes in Fort-de-France while filming and taking photos of a burning roadblock.

The looting continued during the fourth night, targeting several food and phone shops throughout Martinique.

In Fort-de-France, Auchan Dillon was robbed. Individuals broke into the Carrefour Express and an Eco Max.

A fourth night of clashes and violence in Martinique: 10 policemen and 1 gendarme injured
FranceAntilles, 26 November 2021 (extract)

A fourth night of violence in Martinique, marked by numerous gunshots and several injuries among the police.

Four journalists from the national press, including an AFP photographer, were shot at three times by men on motorbikes in a deserted street in Fort-de-France, while filming and taking photos at a safe distance from a burning roadblock.

Police officers were also targeted on Friday at a roadblock in Fort-de-France and one was wounded in the arm by pellets, a police source said. Another policeman, a member of an intervention company, was shot in his bullet-proof waistcoat, the same source said. The Raid is currently intervening at this roadblock, according to the police.

Ten police officers were injured during the night, including one Raid officer, according to the latest report. A police officer suffered serious neck injuries – the ambulance was still with him this morning at the police station – after being hit by a coil on the service vehicle.

A gendarme was also seriously injured in Ducos, in a road accident. He suffered multiple fractures and was evacuated to the Martinique University Hospital. His vital prognosis is not engaged. “In the night, a gendarmerie officer who was intervening with his colleagues on a burglary was violently hit by the vehicle of the looters. He is seriously injured and is being operated on today”, confirms Clarisse Taron, the public prosecutor, in a statement this Friday morning.

In various places, in Schoelcher, Case-Pilote or Saint-Pierre, the gendarmes dislodged blockades, while being fired upon. In Schoelcher, at the Ozanam roundabout, the gendarmes were fired upon with live ammunition and projectiles. They retaliated with flash ball and tear gas.

In Sainte-Thérèse, the clashes were again very violent. The night was again marked by the looting of shops, particularly in Fort-de-France: Auchan Dillon, which was literally robbed, Burger King, a Carrefour Express and an Eco Max.

Le Robert (Martinique), 25 November. Looting and then fire at the Carrefour supermarket in the Créolis shopping centre.

Carrefour Market in the Créolis shopping centre in Le Robert completely destroyed by fire
Zayactu, 25 November 2021

A difficult awakening this Thursday morning for the whole of Martinique. Urban violence took place last night. Several shops were looted, Carrefour Market in the Créolis shopping centre was set on fire during the night. It took several fire trucks to put out the fire, which completely destroyed Carrefour Market. Other businesses in the centre were not spared by the flames. The roof of the building, as well as the first floor, collapsed.

This Thursday morning, dozens of employees are out of work.

And yet the unions had done their dirty work
of pacification….

The union announces the lifting of roadblocks on the roads of Martinique
Martinique la 1ere, 23 November 2021

Given an analysis of the situation, in the context of last night’s violence in the Sainte-Thérèse district of Fort-de-France and the day’s calm discussions at the prefecture and the CTM (Collectivité Territoriale de Martinique), Bertrand Cambusy, spokesperson for the union, announces the lifting of the roadblocks as of this Tuesday evening (November 23, 2021) in our television news.

The union, which met on Tuesday evening (23 November 2021) at the trade union centre in Fort-de-France, drew conclusions from the situation: “Given the intrusion of people who are not members of the intersyndicale near the blockades, it has been decided to lift the blockades on Tuesday evening and to meet our members on Wednesday at 4pm at the Dillon stadium in Fort-de-France”, said Bertrand Cambusy, spokesperson for the union.

The union representatives say they took this decision to avoid the risk of a flare-up like in Guadeloupe: “We took this decision with wisdom. (…) We decided that it was better to lift the blockades. Let the situation return to normal and not degenerate”, Bertrand Cambusy maintains.

Also present during our television newscast, the prefect Stanislas Cazelles, “welcomes the news and the spirit of responsibility of the union”. The day of exchanges probably also weighed in the decision of the union. While waiting for the prefecture and the CTM to agree on the method of negotiation, the strike continues against the health pass and the vaccination obligation.

Social crisis in Martinique: confusion and growing discontent
Guadeloupe la 1ere, 24 November 2021 (extract)

The union, at the origin of the call for general mobilisation in Martinique, held a general assembly on the morning of Wednesday 24 November 2021. The leader, Bertrand Cambusy, also secretary general of the CSTM, was challenged: the decision to lift the blockades, announced last night, by the six representatives of the unions was not understood, nor accepted, by many of those mobilized.

Their intention was misunderstood, they said. The stop of the blockades was only recommended “for the night”, according to the sound of the bell expressed today. However, yesterday there was talk of unblocking the island, to avoid any further outbursts, after the violence throughout Tuesday.

In the end, the choice was made to maintain the blockades on the territory, and even to reinforce them, while waiting for the opening of negotiations, notably with the State and the Territorial Collectivity of Martinique.

But far from appeasement, the situation was explosive on the island last night, with the blockade holders determined to maintain their positions.

In Lamentin, in the districts of Mahault or Carrère, there was not a single union representative. Groups of people have set up roundabouts, setting fire to cars and erecting barricades of branches. This was done in the name of the “citizens”.

Now that the last straw has been spilled, they do not intend to leave the area, let alone respond to the prefect’s injunctions to lift the blockades. They let their anger express itself. Once again, shots were fired.

As on Monday evening, there were also heated exchanges between demonstrators and police officers in the working-class district of Sainte-Thérèse, in Fort-de-France, during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday.

A large part of the island paralysed

Since Monday morning, the road network has been severely disrupted, with roadblocks blocking the main roads, particularly around the major business areas of Lamentin, located in the centre of Martinique, south of Fort-de-France.

The public transport network was completely at a standstill on Tuesday, but health workers and police were still able to get through some of the blockades, an AFP journalist noted.

The blockades also forced the rectorate to close more than half the schools. “The schools are heavily impacted by the municipal workers’ strike. The schools undergo the blockings of the road network”, indicates in a press release the rectorate of Martinique. At midday, 52% of primary schools and 61% of secondary schools were closed.

via: sansnom.
Translated by Act for freedom now!