COVID-19 rules sparked “explosive” unrest in Guadeloupe: Macron | Coronavirus pandemic News

Anger over a vaccination order in French overseas territory Guadalupe it has created an “explosive” situation, said President Emmanuel Macron.

The general strike called by the unions has begun in its second week since last night looting and violent protests Against the measures of coronavirus imposed by Paris, including the rules of health passages and compulsory vaccinations for health workers.

Macron’s prime minister and a member of parliament for the Caribbean archipelago will hold crisis talks in Paris on Monday.

It has a population of about 400,000, police in Guadeloupe 38 people were arrested on Sunday night after shops and pharmacies caught fire, violating shops.

“We don’t know how far it will go yet,” the mayor of Point-a-Pitre, the main city of Guadeloupe, told France Info radio.

The French media reported this on Sunday incidents He entered a weapons depot in Pointe-a-Pitre and took his rifles.

Guadeloupe has had violent protests before, the mayor said, but now there are “major concerns” on the island that the riots were armed.

Guadeloupe officials said protesters had fired on security forces and firefighters, adding that “organized gangs” had now joined the unrest.

The city remained quiet on Monday, with schools closed and barricades on the streets, as most shops remain closed.

France has expanded 200 extraordinary police, including elite commands, to calm the unrest in Guadalupe.

The local time (22:00 – 09:00 GMT) will last from dusk to dawn from 18:00 to 5:00 until Tuesday.

Anger about vaccination orders and coronavirus restrictions it has led to broader questions about the archipelago’s relationship with Paris.

Over the weekend, the main union in Guadalupe, the UGTG, called for continued protests.

Although the demonstrations began during the vaccination period, “they indicate the depth of suffering, inequality, poverty and exclusion that people, especially young and old, feel,” said UGTG Secretary General Maite Hubert M’Toumo.

Macron acknowledged the seriousness of the situation and urged local politicians not to confuse related issues coronavirus rules with complaints from the colonial era and long-standing complaints, the territory is economically marginalized by Paris.

“We will not give up on lies, distorting information and exploiting some people in this situation,” Macron said during a visit to northern France on Monday, saying the situation was “very explosive”.

“We are not playing with health and we will not give up for the sake of political struggles that are playing with the health of the French,” he added. “We have to explain, explain, explain and convince, convince, convince, because we don’t have to play with the health of the people.”

In the overseas territories of France, vaccination rates in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific have generally been much lower than in the mainland, and there have been repeated anti-virus measures.

In the French overseas territory near Martinique, about 190 kilometers (118 miles) south of Guadeloupe, a general strike has been called for Monday. Union leaders are demanding an end compulsory vaccinations for health workers. They are also protesting for wage increases and issues.