Sarkozy meets envoys for talks on unrest

Latest update: 19/02/2009

- Guadeloupe - Martinique - Nicolas Sarkozy - petrol - strike

The French government has offered a wage increase to Guadeloupe's unions in a bid to quell weeks of unrest. Shots were fired at French security forces overnight ahead of talks between President Nicolas Sarkozy and officials from the island in Paris.

By FRANCE 24 (with wires) (text)

FRANCE 24 (video)

FRANCE 24's special correspondents Eve Irvine and Willy Bracciano are covering the crisis in the French overseas territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Click on ‘React’ below to ask them any questions you might have.

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Martinique amid strikes
The French Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe have been suffering under crippling strikes

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Following all-night negotiations, French Prime Minister François Fillon said Paris would offer a wage hike to low-income earners of almost 200 euros a month, in accordance with union demands.

Guadeloupe’s Collective Against Exploitation (LKP), a coalition of unions and leftist groups, launched a general strike against the soaring cost of living in Guadeloupe on Jan. 20. The protesting unions demanded a monthly wage rise of 200 euros for low-paid workers.

Located in the Caribbean, Guadeloupe and Martinique are overseas departments of France with the same status as departments on the French mainland (le métropole).
Guadeloupe is a group of five islands with a population of 400,000; Martinique a single island also with around 400,000 residents.
The French government is represented by a prefect, appointed by the French president.
Daily affairs are managed by councils elected by popular vote.
The islands send representatives to the National Assembly and the Senate in Paris.
Unemployment: 22.7% in Guadeloupe (compared with 8.1% in mainland France).
Poverty rate: 12.5% in Guadeloupe (6.1% in mainland France).
Racial composition: majority black, with significant white and Indian populations. The economy is largely in the hands of the "békés", the local name for white descendants of colonial landlords and plantation owners.

Five shotgun rounds were fired at security forces but no one was injured, according to local police authorities. A shop and a car in Pointe-a-Pitre were also reportedly set ablaze and four people arrested nearby.

At least 33 people were arrested overnight, some of whom were carrying weapons, according to the local administration.

Violence escalated after Jacques Bino, a union activist, was shot dead in his car overnight on Tuesday after leaving a LKP meeting in Pointe-a-Pitre.

More than 2,000 people -- headed by union coalition leader Domota -- participated in a silent street march on Wednesday in tribute to Bino, the first fatality of the violence. They marched from the union buildings to the place where he was killed.

“The mood is sombre,” said FRANCE 24’s Eve Irvine, reporting from Pointe-a-Pitre late on Wednesday. “Rather than wanting to end the strike because of his death, union members are now even more motivated to carry on the strike,” she added.

The social unrest has spread to the neighbouring island of Martinique, where unions launched a strike on Feb. 5, demanding higher wages and a lower cost for basic goods. Most shops, cafes, banks, schools and government offices have been shut on the two islands for the past few weeks, dealing a blow to the popular holiday destinations’ vital tourism industry.

The recent tensions in Guadeloupe and Martinique have also exposed race and class divisions on the island, where the local white elite wields power over the black majority.

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"Hyper-president, hyper-absent - has he lost his tongue?" read the banners. Many in Martinique don't understand why their president in Paris has stayed silent for so long