General strike hits France’s Caribbean possessions

Trade union actions starting in January have brought Guadeloupe, a French colony in the Caribbean, to a standstill. The underlying reasons for the work stoppage stem from the global economic crisis and the total political control of Guadeloupe by the French imperialist state under the leadership of the rightist president, Nicholas Sarkozy.

The strike began on Jan. 20 amid rising prices and worsening living conditions among the people on this island located some 370 miles southeast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Guadaloupe’s largest city, Pointe-a-Pitre, is 4,200 miles from Paris, France.

In Martinique, thousands of Black protesters marched Feb. 13 through the capital, chanting slogans against the descendants of colonizers and slave holders, who comprise only 1 percent of the population but control the economy. “Martinique is ours, not theirs!” they chanted.

On Feb. 14, the leader of the Collective Against Exploitation (LKP), a coalition of unions and political parties that have carried out the strike, accused the French government of sending riot police to Guadeloupe in order to assassinate its organizers.

“Today given the number of gendarmes who have arrived in Guadeloupe armed to the teeth, the French state has chosen its natural path: to kill Guadeloupeans as usual,” says LKP leader Elie Domota, who is also secretary general of the General Union of Guadeloupe Workers (UGTG).

Domota’s statement came as French police units stood guard against striking workers to force the re-opening of petrol stations and supermarkets. The workers have demanded that escalating fuel and food prices be lowered. The French government conceded to some of these demands and utilized these concessions to justify the reopening of the gas stations and food stores.

Citing the historic role of France in maintaining political and economic control of the tropical islands, Domota said, “Every time there have been demonstrations in Guadeloupe to demand pay rises, the response of the state has been repression, notably in May 1967 in Pointe-a-Pitre, where there were 100 deaths of building workers massacred by the gendarmes.”

On Feb. 14, thousands of workers demonstrated in the town of Le Moule. The marchers walked through the area chanting, “Guadeloupe is ours! It’s not theirs!”

This slogan, of course, relates to the economic dominance of the white French minority known as “Bekes.” It is this class of the population—along with French imperialism—that exercises effective control over the more than 400,000 African descendants whose ancestors were enslaved and brought to the islands during 18th and 19th centuries.

Social apartheid in the French colony

A French member of parliament from the overseas department of French Guiana on the South American continent said on Feb. 15 that the conditions in Guadeloupe are “not far from social apartheid.” In an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche, Christine Taubira stated, “The leaders of the LKP are not anti-white racists. They are exposing a reality ... a caste holds economic power and abuses it.”

The Guadeloupe strike has closed most shops, restaurants, schools, banks and government offices. The Sarkozy regime has adamantly refused to grant the majority of the demands of the LKP, one of which consists of a 200 Euro monthly raise ($259).

In neighboring Martinique, workers have joined their counterparts in Guadeloupe in a general strike beginning on Feb. 5.

A Feb. 10 Associated Press article highlights the mass demonstrations and work stoppages in Martinique: “University students and artisans in the French Caribbean island of Martinique are protesting the high cost of living.

“All major commercial centers, gas stations and businesses remained closed on Tuesday (Feb. 10) as the protest entered its sixth day. Government officials have met with protesters, who demand a 30-percent overall reduction in prices. Union leaders have said they would agree to a 10-percent reduction among some products. No agreement has been reached.

“Police have said that 11,000 protesters crowded the streets of Martinique’s capital [Fort-de-France]. Union leaders say it was more than double that number.”

In Guadeloupe 47 trade unions, associations and political parties have refused to work and attend schools since Jan. 20. A demonstration Jan. 24 drew 25,000 people.

Some of the 146 demands put forward by the LKP include the reduction of fuel prices by 50 percent, the lowering of prices for transport services and water, an immediate freeze on rents, more job security for temporary employees, greater educational opportunities for youth and an end to racism in employment practices.

Guadeloupe has been a French colony since 1812. Although the island was ostensibly integrated into the French state after World War II in 1946, the country has remained in poverty.

Unemployment stands officially at 23 percent and the prices of necessities are anywhere between 30 and 60 percent higher than what prevails in France.

The French Socialist Party dominates the local council that governs Guadeloupe. Even though the PS is in opposition to the Sarkozy government, it has offered no real solidarity for Guadeloupe’s workers.

Cynthia McKinney expresses solidarity

From the United States, former congresswoman from Georgia and Green Party candidate for president in 2008, Cynthia McKinney, issued a Feb. 7 statement of support to Guadeloupe’s workers.

McKinney said in part, “I call on the authorities in Guadeloupe and in France to heed the workers’ and people’s just demands—and I urge the authorities to refrain from using any form of intimidation, pressure or repression against this powerful movement.”

The former congressperson continued by pointing out, “The eyes of the world are focused on Guadeloupe. Israel has shown the world that the massive use of force does not ensure victory. Indeed, it is counterproductive.”

McKinney also said: “Any use of force by the authorities against people exercising their rights is not acceptable. It is not by repression and the deployment of police and shock troops that a solution will be found.”

The need for international solidarity

While the one-day strike by workers in France on Jan. 29 received some media coverage in the U.S., the events in Guadeloupe and Martinique have gone largely uncovered by the corporate-controlled media. Both of these actions represent the workers’ response to the burgeoning economic crisis engendered by capitalist overproduction.

Legally, Guadeloupe and Martinique are overseas departments of France; their citizens are French citizens who elect representatives to the French Parlement. But both of these territories are still subjected to colonial rule and its concomitant exploitation of labor as well as institutional racism. The peoples of Guadeloupe and Martinique have an inherent right to self-determination and national independence, just as Puerto Rico does with respect to U.S. imperialism.

Despite the disadvantaged conditions that the masses in Guadeloupe are struggling against, they are pointing the way for the coming struggles of working-class people throughout the capitalist world. The building of a united front, the coming together of trade unions and peoples’ organizations is key in any process aimed at fighting against the current crisis in world capitalism.