Al Jazeera English - Americas - Violent protests hit French island
Late on Monday night police fired tear gas at protesters in Guadeloupe's largest town, Pointe-a-Pitre, as they set fire to roadblocks, while gangs looted shops, smashed storefront windows and set fire to two buildings. "It is a political crisis, an institutional crisis and we are on the brink of sedition," Victorin Lurel, Guadeloupe's regional council president, told France-Info radio on Tuesday. However, Elie Domota, a leader of the Collective Against Exploitation, or LKP, the group of unions and political parties organising the strikes, accused France of "repression", local newspapers reported.
Late on Monday night police fired tear gas at protesters in Guadeloupe's largest town, Pointe-a-Pitre, as they set fire to roadblocks, while gangs looted shops, smashed storefront windows and set fire to two buildings.
"It is a political crisis, an institutional crisis and we are on the brink of sedition," Victorin Lurel, Guadeloupe's regional council president, told France-Info radio on Tuesday.
However, Elie Domota, a leader of the Collective Against Exploitation, or LKP, the group of unions and political parties organising the strikes, accused France of "repression", local newspapers reported.
And in the wonderful world of basketball :
Magic's Mickael Pietrus on the road to Guadeloupe -- OrlandoSentinel.com
The Magic -- in partnership with the Islands of Guadeloupe -- have begun a 10-week contest that will end with four people traveling with Pietrus for a five-day trip. The contest winner will be able to invite three others to make the journey. The prize includes airfare from Orlando, hotel accommodations and transportation to and from the airport. But you must learn about Guadeloupe to compete. Each week you can take a three-question test about Guadeloupe at OrlandoMagic.com. Answer the questions correctly and you earn an entry into the contest, meaning you can add an entry each week until the season ends.
A protester was shot to death on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe as weeks of strikes and labor unrest degenerated into violence, the region's top official said Wednesday....The man was apparently shot by youths manning barricades in a housing project in Pointe-a-Pitre, Nicolas Desforges, the top appointed official on the island, said by telephone.The dead man, Jacques Bino, was a tax agent and union member returning home from protests, Desforges said.
The dead man, Jacques Bino, was a tax agent and union member returning home from protests, Desforges said.
SOT Yves Jego, Secretary of State for Overseas Territories: `First, I'm stunned by what's happened. One person, apparently a unionist and member of a collective was found dead in his car, clearly murdered by rioters, and police officers who came to help him were also injured. We can see that the only viable strategy and the only possible way out of this since the start is through social dialogue. We truly need a truce in the violence, we really need talks between bosses and workers to resume.`
