Martinique
The strike spread to neighbouring Martinique beginning on 5 February 2009. Protesters paralysed Martinique's capital city, Fort-de-France. An estimated 11,000 people had taken part in the demonstrations on Martinique in the first seven days of the strike, according to the local police. Martiniquean unions disagreed with the estimates, arguing that the protesters had numbered at least 25,000 individuals. Demonstrators carried pro-trade union signs and wore red shirts, representing the official color of the local unions.
Protesters in Martinique demanded a monthly salary increase of nearly US$580 for all workers earning minimum wage on the island. They also called for a reduction in monthly electricity and water bills for Martinique residents.
Government and transportation leaders reportedly agreed to reduce freight costs. In response, business leaders on Martinique agreed to lower the prices of 100 basic products, including food, by 20%.
Martiniquean residents were reportedly shopping only at small, family-run grocery stores, as most large stores remained closed during the protests. Demonstrators were reported to have stormed most major chain supermarkets and forced them to close. Gas stations, which were closed in response to the strike, were serving only medical and emergency workers.
Colonel François-Xavier Bourges, the police chief of Martinique, said that ten people had been arrested for stealing gasoline or looting. France deployed 130 riot police from mainland France to Martinique on 12 February 2009, to "ensure that order is maintained."
The tourism industry on Martinique grew increasingly impatient with the strikers and the lack of basic services. Benoit Le Cesne, the president of Martinique's hotel association, expressed concern over the potential negative effects on the tourism industry, "There are basically no more supplies, neither of gas nor food, and laundry services are no longer operating. If this continues, professionals will no longer be able to guarantee services promised to tourists." Unlike in Guadeloupe, the Club Med Buccaneer's Creek resort in Martinique remained open through the strike.
On Monday, February 16, protesters allowed 28 of Martinique's 85 gas stations to reopen and be resupplied. Residents and tourists lined up for hours to fill their cars' gas tanks. However, all small businesses who had reopened over the weekend were forced to close again. Protesters also blocked industrial areas of the island and the city centre in Fort-de-France.
On Thursday, February 20, 2009, Fort-de-France Mayor Serge Letchimy announced the cancellation of Martinique's annual four-day Carnival citing the ongoing general strike and the death of union activist Jacques Bino on neighboring Guadeloupe. Martinican police had criticized Letchimy's decision to hold the Carnival, saying that they did not have enough time to prepare due to the strike. The Carnival would have begun on February 22. The annual carnival usually attracts 50,000 people to Fort-de-France. It was the first time in history that the festival had been cancelled.
Read more about this topic: 2009 French Caribbean General Strikes