By Elodie Soupama — AP News, Monday 22 November 2021
LE GOSIER, Guadeloupe (AP) — Schools closed across the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe on Monday and France’s prime minister appealed for calm and dialogue after protests against COVID-19 rules and vaccinations descended into days of rioting and looting. France’s central government sent in police special forces to restore order, as emergency workers said they were unable to reach neighbourhoods barricaded by angry crowds. The prefect of Guadeloupe said 11 people were arrested by police overnight Sunday into Monday, and several kidney dialysis patients in blocked areas were said to be “in danger.”
Demonstrations in Guadeloupe, an overseas French department of about 400,000 people, erupted over France’s mandatory vaccinations for health care workers and the country’s COVID-19 health pass. As they degenerated into rioting, an 80-year-old woman was hit by a bullet while on her balcony and at least two others were injured. A weapons store was among businesses looted.
While mainland France has seen similar protests, demonstrators in Guadeloupe are also angry over deep-seated economic, social and racial inequality, and expanded their demands in recent days to include a general salary increase, higher unemployment benefits and the hiring of more teachers. Guadeloupe’s COVID-19 vaccination rate is 33%, compared to 75% nationwide, which authorities blame on false information about vaccines shared online, as well as distrust toward central authorities stemming from past health scandals.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex held an emergency video conference with officials from the region, calling for calm and promising dialogue with health care workers opposed to vaccination. Guadeloupe President Ary Chalus decried the looting, noting that the riots are “about more than mandatory vaccination,” and lamented that the central French government had not responded to requests for economic support “as fast as they sent in law enforcement.” The nearby island of Martinique also faced a general strike over virus rules and longstanding grievances with the mainland.