STORM2K

'All the same elements of the riots on mainland France in 2005 are present here.
A man holds a photo to pay tribute to Jacques Bino
'We don't have the same concrete buildings, there are palm trees instead, but it's the same dead-end, the same "no future" for young people, with joblessness and a feeling of isolation.'

The first protests began a month ago when the left-wing union coalition, the Collective Against Exploitation, demanded a £180 a month pay increase for low-wage earners.

President Nicolas Sarkozy sent his minster for overseas departments to the island to meet with union leaders on response to the demands.
But the racial tensions which have been simmering for decades exploded into full-scale rioting, with colonial descendants who own 90 per cent of the wealth becoming the focus of the violence.

The unrest was further aggravated last week when wealthy white landowner Alain Huyghues-Despointes publicly criticised mixed-race marriages and said he preferred to 'preserve his race'. (What a 'tard. Ed)

In Paris, the violence has provoked divisions in Mr Sarkozy's cabinet with black minister Rachida Data acknowledging that Guadeloupe suffered from 'a problem with the distribution of wealth'.

Monday 23rd of February 2009
Guadeloupe tourists urged to stay in their hotel rooms
... Posted on: February 23rd, 2009 by Martin Fellowes
Tourists visiting the French island of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean are being told to stay in their hotels as protests in the streets increase and roads to the airport have been blocked.

Thousands of holidaymakers are trying to leave the island, which is experiencing increasing violence as the cost of living soars.

Guadeloupe police report that they continue to escort tourists in coaches to the main airport on the island, using their armoured vehicles to break through the roadblocks erected by protesters.

Police are advising others to stay in their hotels and not wandered around the streets where demonstrators are escalating their protests into battles with riot police.

A spokesman for the Guadeloupe police commented: “It is very frightening for them. They came here for a holiday and not step into a war zone.”

He added: “There is extra security at all hotels and we have assured tourists they will be safe there until we can escort safely to the airport. The protesters have nothing against them – tourism is the lifeblood of the island’s economy.”

Jeanette Mourier, a Guadeloupe tourism official, said: “We have mainly British, French and American tourists here. Future bookings have also dropped off. This violence is doing nothing for our economy.”

Thanks to http://www.telegraph.co.uk for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

http://www.lesilesdeguadeloupe.com

Ed Mahmoud wrote:Mr. Despointes is an idiot. I'm in a mixed ethnicity marriage, and Miss Guadeloupe 2008, Rebecca Erivan would seem to suggest mixed marriages produce fine, fine looking offspring