FORT-DE-FRANCE — Protesters torched cars and attacked police in a new night of trouble on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, the local government said on Tuesday, as violent demonstrations over rising living costs show no signs of abating.
The Martinique administration said seven cars had been burned and police attacked with stones and Molotov cocktails during unrest from late Monday into early Tuesday.
Four youths were arrested.
The demonstrations, which started in September, have endured despite curfew measures.
In recent weeks the island of 350,000 people has been shaken by violent protests over high food prices.
During a fresh wave of troubles last week, one person was killed and nearly 30 police received injuries as protesters looted shops, erected burning barricades and clashed with members of law enforcement.
The curfew, which was ordered from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. in the first week of October and was extended at least once, the prefecture of Martinique said in a prepared statement.
French overseas territories including Martinique, Guadeloupe and New Caledonia have been recently rocked with protests, often by groups complaining that living standards are well below those of mainland France.
Guadeloupe suffered a power cut on the whole island last Friday.
By REUTERS
Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne
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