First modification:
The French Government responded to the demonstrations of the movement that opposes the mandatory nature of the Covid-19 vaccine for health personnel by sending police officers to the archipelago and decreeing a curfew between 6:00 pm and 5:00 am, effective immediately. The move comes after four days of protests in the capital Pointe-à-Pitre.
Faced with the violent protests taking place on the French island of Guadeloupe, the Government announced this Friday, November 19, the dispatch of at least 200 police officers to reinforce the work of local security agencies.
“They will be in office in the next few days,” announced the French Overseas Ministers, Sebastien Lecornu, and the Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, through a joint statement in which they also firmly condemned “the violent actions that occurred in the last hours in Guadalupe ”.
Face aux violences qui touchent actuellement la #Guadeloupe, nous avons décidé avec @SebLecornu of deployer 200 policemen and gendarmes supplémentaires dans les prochains jours afin de reretablir l’ordre republicain.
Soutien aux forces de l’ordre et services de l’Etat mobilisés. pic.twitter.com/SRnpJmvy7e
– Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) November 19, 2021
Alexandre Rochatte, prefect of Guadeloupe, announced a curfew that will last until November 23, in order to calm the protesters. In a statement, the official added that, among other things, “the sale of gasoline in drums is prohibited.”
The mobilizations were developed by a group of union and citizen organizations that express themselves against the health pass and the obligation to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
However, these have been overshadowed by violent acts such as the burning of buildings in the capital Pointe-à-Pitre. This was announced by representatives of the fire department to the AFP news agency.
Compte tenu des mouvements sociaux en cours & des actes de vandalisme, le préfet #Guadeloupe, a decidé l’instauration d’un #CouvreFeu à compter de ce jour
from 6pm to 5am
📍La vente d’essence in jerrican est également interdite
Tout contrevenant s’expose à des poursuites judiciaires. pic.twitter.com/yPlh4EMB4o– Préfet de Guadeloupe (@ Prefet971) November 19, 2021
Additionally, a blockade of the main roads and towards the University Hospital Center (CHU) has been maintained.
These movements reject the obligation for doctors to present a health certificate in their work that shows that they have the complete vaccination schedule, have overcome the disease in a period of less than six months or have a recent negative test, measures that are in force throughout France.
Additionally, the health certificate is necessary in the country to carry out daily activities such as going to the cinema or the theater, and also to enter a bar, a cafe or a restaurant.
Lack of doctors, a problem that arises due to the situation
At the CHU, roadblocks harm personnel coming from other places. “We are obliged to wait for all personnel to show up to start activities and wait for the arrival of the relays to maintain continuity,” said Anne-Gaëlle Pascale, health executive in the operating room at CHU.
“There is a leak at the entrance, and more so for the inmates, some of whom are prevented from entering. Some have been attacked by a hooded person, “said Cédric Zolezzi, co-director of the hospital, and who deplores” the lack of dialogue. “
Pascale recalled that, since the beginning of November, the situation is complex due to having “restricted personnel” when the vaccination requirement for doctors and nurses was established. In surgery, for example, 50% of the medical personnel were absent, although “They are coming back little by little.”
According to the CHU management, around 87% of the center’s workers have a health pass. But some are suspended for invalid passes, which is attached to “a wave of sick leave,” which would be “due to a union instruction,” said Cédric Zolezzi.
Sandro Sormain, deputy secretary of the UTS-UGTG, the union of health agents and workers of Guadalupe, blamed “who imposed the obligation to be vaccinated.” Additionally, he warns that there could be a breaking point due to the burden of work because “a team reduced to 50% means that those who remain do the work of two people.”
Demonstrations slow down daily activities
On the other hand, the rector of the academic region of Guadeloupe, Christine Goff-Ziegler, described the students as “the first victims” and condemned “all acts of vandalism and obstruction of traffic or access to the establishments of which the students”.
In other places, roadblocks have been lifted by the action of residents or drivers, although in rural areas roadblocks continue to impede passage, causing damage to agricultural trade.
The Medef Business Union “strongly condemned the ban on freedom of movement.” “After months of restrictive measures for our population and for the country’s economy, it is unacceptable to allow this spiral of self-destruction to prosper,” the employers said in a statement.
With EFE and AFP
.