Guadeloupe schools close after COVID riots

Schools closed across the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe on Monday, and the French president warned of a “very explosive” situation in the territory after protests against COVID-19 rules and vaccinations turned into days of riots and looting.

France’s central government sent in special police forces to try to restore order to the former colony, as emergency workers said they were unable to reach neighborhoods barricaded by angry crowds.

“We have more patients” in the blocked area of ​​La Boucan, tweeted Patrick Portecop, head of the regional emergency service. “We are powerless.”

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Marylis Colzin, a nurse protesting against France’s mandatory vaccinations for healthcare professionals, poses in Pointe-a-Pitre on the island of Guadeloupe on Sunday 21 November 2021.
(AP Photo / Elodie Soupama)

Guadeloupe’s education department on Monday ordered schools closed to all ages “taking into account the situation” and asked parents to keep their children at home.

Demonstrations in Guadeloupe, an overseas French department with around 400,000 people, broke out in addition to France’s mandatory vaccinations for healthcare professionals and COVID-19 healthcare passes required to enter restaurants and many other venues throughout France. As they degenerated into riots, an 80-year-old woman was hit by a bullet while on her balcony and at least two others were injured, according to local authorities.

While the French mainland has experienced similar protests, protesters in Guadeloupe are also angry at deep-seated economic, social and racial inequality and have expanded their demands in recent days to include a general wage increase, higher unemployment benefits and the hiring of more teachers.

Guadeloupe’s COVID-19 vaccination rate is 33% compared to 75% nationwide, blamed by authorities for false information on vaccines shared online. There is also distrust of central authorities as a result of previous health scandals.

An overturned car is depicted as the street in Le Gosier on the island of Guadeloupe on Sunday, November 21, 2021.
(AP Photo / Elodie Soupama)

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Astonishment, sadness, resignation, indifference – the mood in Pointe-a-Pitre changes from street to street. Police are clearing major arteries of roadblocks that have made movement difficult for several days. Smoke rises from heaps of burning waste and electrical equipment. Nails, broken glass and tree trunks strewn in the streets as a woman rummaged through the charred remains of her home.

Outside the main hospital, striking workers have set up camp against mandatory vaccinations for health workers, and sympathizers are bringing food.

Emilie has her burnt passport in her charred home after riots in Pointe-a-Pitre on the island of Guadeloupe on Sunday 21 November 2021.
(AP Photo / Elodie Soupama)

Guadeloupe president Ary Chalus dismissed the looting: “We can not destroy what we built together.” But he noted that the riots were “about more than mandatory vaccination,” and lamented on regional television that the central government had not responded to requests for financial support “as soon as they sent in law enforcement” to quell the riots.

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“There is a situation that is very explosive, there is a very local context. There are tensions that we know are historic,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday.

He called for efforts to convince people “that the vaccine is the best protection, and not to give up lies or manipulation. … Public order must be maintained. Guadeloupe has the right to reassure.”