Curfew remains in place on French territory of Guadeloupe amid power blackout

This photograph shows a pharmacy partially reopened in Le Moule, on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe on October 26, 2024, following a general blackout in the island.

An evening curfew continued to remain in place on Saturday in Guadeloupe as French authorities worked to restore power to the Caribbean territory. The EDF power company said that electricity had been restored to two-thirds of the 380,000 people affected by the blackout. The French authorities accused striking workers of blocking the engines at the main EDF power station and cutting electricity to the island.

French authorities maintained a night curfew on the Caribbean territory of Guadeloupe on Saturday as they battled to restore power they accused striking energy workers of sabotaging.

Guadeloupe and the nearby French island of Martinique have seen weeks of often violent protests over the cost of living. A night curfew has been in force in Martinique for 16 days because of unrest there.

French authorities kept Guadeloupe under curfew for a second night "to guarantee safety and tranquility" after the island's power was completely cut on Friday.

Burning debris and road blocks were erected across the island on Thursday night.

Regional government chief Guy Losbar said he was "outraged" by the workers' actions.

Authorities in Martinique, which has a population of about 350,000, said that despite the curfew around 50 masked "troublemakers" had set up burning roadblocks in two districts.

(AFP)


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