Two dams were erected again at the end of October in Sainte-Rose, blocking the unbearable daily traffic which asphyxiates this commune of Guadeloupe. In the continuous noise of vehicles, on this hot and humid November 3, between the honking of those who greet him as he passes, Ludovic Tolassy, 41, says. “In 2021, there were around twenty dams here. Everyone came out to express their displeasure. Cost of living, water, the obligation to vaccinate… it was difficult to define the object of these demonstrations, but it was a popular expression. »
Long black beard and sparkling eyes, the child of Sainte-Rose, a former police officer dismissed in France, took his part in the violent events which shook the island for three weeks, in November and December 2021. He speaks in the name of Moun Gwadloup, a composite, anti-system movement. Without fear of using violence, its twenty activists challenge local elected officials and the State on the water scandal, of which more than 10% of the 370,000 inhabitants of the department have been permanently deprived for years.
Through videos broadcast on Facebook Live, “Moun” – “people”, in Creole – has acquired a large audience. “It felt like everyone was getting used to the unacceptable, we were thanked for taking action. » A year later, the forties, whose cleaning company works for a nearby municipality, assures: “Getting out of the crisis through chaos is what we want to avoid. Concrete progress must be made on people’s basic needs, public services, drinking water. »
On November 16, 2021, the Gabarre bridge, which connects Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre via the Rivière Salée strait, was blocked. In Les Abymes, the firefighters of the Perrin barracks set up the first big barrage against the obligation of anti-Covid vaccination for caregivers. In the following days, hundreds of barricades paralyze the whole territory. The powerful trade union General Union of Guadeloupe Workers (UGTG) deploys its emissaries there. Since the general strike against the high cost of living that he led in 2009 with the Liyannaj Kont Pwofitasyon (LKP) collective, there had been nothing as mobilizing as this “deprivation of liberty”imposed by the vaccination obligation. “In 2009, an agreement was signed with the State on the integration of young people, transport, agricultural development, the supervision of basic necessities prices, water… it was never implemented”also recalls Elie Domota, general secretary of the UGTG and leader of the LKP.
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