Most roads were cleared and only a few remained blocked after several days of demonstrations that featured clashes with the police, an airport invasion and a return of a 9pm to 5am curfew.
The prefecture said that there were no major incidents: “The lull that began yesterday is confirmed, the night from Saturday to Sunday was calm.”
The curfew, along with a ban on demonstrations, gatherings and other protest gatherings throughout the territory, as well as a ban on the purchase, sale and transport of fuels, petroleum products, fireworks and pyrotechnic devices to individuals, will remain in place until Monday, but officials say they could be extended.
Meanwhile, the final round of negotiations on the high cost of living, in which the prefect, elected officials, representatives of the RPPRAC -the association that launched the movement against the high cost of living- and distributors, is set for Tuesday.
The main point of tension relates to the number of products that would be affected by the price reductions being negotiated.
On Saturday, France’s Minister responsible for Overseas Territories, François-Noël Buffet, said the negotiations were progressing “constructively”.
“All stakeholders, whether political or economic, have committed seriously and considerable efforts have been made to find concrete solutions. We are aiming for a substantial reduction in prices, with expected drops of between 15 and 20 per cent… all partners have made very great efforts, we must now conclude!” he said.
Buffet added that it is imperative to restore public order to allow the discussions to be concluded in good conditions.
“The recent violence is often detached from legitimate demands concerning the high cost of living, and it is crucial to stop it so that the daily lives of our compatriots can resume normally. The State is also committed to ensuring total transparency in price control, in order to guarantee that the measures taken are applied effectively and rigorously,” he said.
—
—
Loop Caribbean launched in 2014 quickly grew to have teams in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Haiti, Cayman and St Lucia. In 2020, it launched the newest website in the Loop family -LoopCaribbean!
—
