Loading...

°C,

France in talks with unions on troubled Caribbean islands

November 30, 2021 / 10:26 AM
French Overseas Minister Sebastien Lecornu
Sharjah24 – AFP: France's minister for overseas territories left the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe Monday night at an impasse over ways to end more than a week of violent protests sparked by Covid-19 restrictions.
Before departing for more talks in neighbouring Martinique, Sebastien Lecornu told reporters that the Guadeloupe negotiations had been deadlocked over the "obvious and indispensable" demand that the various unions condemn the violence.

Discussions were not possible so long as the unions "do not want to condemn assassination attempts" against security forces, he said.

Unrest in the former colonial outpost began with a protest over compulsory Covid-19 vaccinations for health workers, but quickly ballooned into a broader revolt over living conditions, and spread to next door Martinique.

Both islands are now under curfew.
In the French overseas territories, each of which has close to 400,000 inhabitants, residents complain of greater poverty, higher costs for basic goods and poorer public services than on the mainland.

Lecornu said his talks with four union representatives in Guadeloupe were limited to the receipt of a list of demands.

Maite Hubert-M'Toumo, secretary general of Guadeloupe's main trade union UGTG, said the requests include a suspension of the vaccine mandate for health professionals, no convictions for protesters over the violence and improvement of living conditions for Guadeloupean families.

Lecornu, who laid responsibility for some of the issues at the feet of local elected officials, said he expects to make better headway in Martinique where the "republican prerequisite" for negotiations has already been met.
November 30, 2021 / 10:26 AM

Related Topics

More on this Topic

Rotate For an optimal experience, please
rotate your device to portrait mode.