France Postpones Compulsory Shots for Guadeloupe Health Workers After General Uprising

The two Caribbean islands have been hit by unrest over the last week after the French government imposed tougher measures to curb the spread of the virus.

Compulsory vaccinations for health workers, a measure already introduced on the French mainland, had fuelled resentment among the islands’ majority Black population.

The French health ministry said in a statement after a crisis government meeting on Friday that it had decided to postpone to Dec. 31 “finalising the implementation of the vaccine mandate” in Martinique and Guadeloupe. [Seems like a small concession to try and sap the momentum of the revolt.]

It had put those who refused inoculation on unpaid leave but now says it will give those suspended more time for individual “dialogue” with their managers while still getting paid.

Some on the islands have called the mandate a throwback to France’s slavery era, insisting that they should be allowed to make their own choices about health treatment.

The French government meeting came as the riots in Martinique were still ongoing, a source close to the French overseas minister said.

“Last night was clearly more intense than the nights before,” a local spokesman for the French state told Reuters on Friday.

Source: France 24

Prosecutors said masked protesters had also tried to set fire to the gate of the official residence of the prefect, the most senior representative of the French central state there, but no significant damage had been caused.

French government spokesman Gabriel Attal denounced the “unacceptable” violence.

In Guadeloupe, where protests began last week, there is a historic mistrust of the government’s handling of health crises after many people were systematically exposed to toxic pesticides used in banana plantations in the 1970s.

Source: Associated Press