
Martinique: Protesters storm airport despite curfew
Featured image: Protesters set fire to a road sign outside the Fort-de-France airport; Source: AP News
The people’s uprising in French Caribbean colony Martinique has reached new peaks past week, when masses occupied the tarmac of the airport in Fort-de-France, capital city of the department. The intensifying of the protests is said to have begun on past Monday, when police tried to dismantle a road blockade. Until now, a police station was set ablaze, where at least one person died – unclear on which side – as well as cars and barricades in several parts of the island. The people took to the streets and engaged in clashes with the riot-police units “Companies for Republican Security” despite the ongoing curfew from 9 PM to 5 AM and the ban on demonstrations.
Thursday night, protesters boarded the airport in Fort-de-France, storming the tarmac and then towards the main entrance, where hundreds of foreign passengers had taken shelter, being protected by the police with tear gas. All flights had to be canceled, traffic was shut down and 500 foreigners stuck in Martinique for a night. According to government statements, past week nearly a dozen officers were injured after protesters threw bottles and rocks, while some even would have opened fire on the repressive forces.

Meanwhile, schools have been temporarily closed. The curfew continues. Martinique is burning since nearly a month, with no end in sight. French imperialism fails time and again, while it increasingly faces the rebellion of the masses, which is just being spread by the repression. While imperialists can just deal with the rebellion by sending more troops and repressing more, the people insist and the rebellion gets more intense.