Martinique airport closed as violent protesters invade tarmac, attempt to break in

PARIS — Hundreds of passengers are stranded on the French Caribbean island of Martinique after its international airport was forced to close as protesters invaded the tarmac and attempted to break in, the French airport said. airport and local authorities.

Since Monday evening, Martinique has been gripped by cost-of-living protests that turned violent, with at least one person killed when protesters set fire to a police station, cars and road barricades and clashed police officers.

According to a press release from Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport on Facebook Thursday evening, “no departing or arriving flights will be operated” until further notice.

Earlier Thursday, protesters invaded the tarmac of the airport in Fort-de-France, the island’s capital, and tried to force the main entrance, where hundreds of passengers had taken refuge, videos showed broadcast on social networks.

Police can be seen securing the entrance, repelling attacks from protesters and firing what appears to be tear gas in their direction.

Three planes carrying some 1,000 passengers had to be diverted Thursday to the neighboring island of Guadeloupe, the Martinique prefecture said in its press release. Five hundred other passengers who were supposed to board these flights remained stranded at Fort-de-France airport, according to the press release.

The prefecture indicated that this rush to the airport came after “rumors” spread on social networks concerning the imminent arrival of hundreds of French police officers by plane.

“This completely false information is at the origin of groupings and invasion of the airport runway,” we can read in the press release.

So far this week, nearly a dozen police officers have been injured when protesters threw bottles and rocks and police responded with tear gas, according to the government. Some protesters also opened fire, officials said.

The latest wave of violence prompted the government to announce a new curfew, stressing that demonstrations on public roads were prohibited.

It is the latest in a series of protests that began in early September, prompting France to send special riot police to the island, who have banned demonstrations in some areas.

Martinique has seen similar protests in recent years, many of which were fueled by anger over what demonstrators say are economic, social and racial inequalities.