Defiance

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France deployed a long-banned anti-riot force to Martinique to help local authorities suppress protests over the skyrocketing price of food, with demonstrators accusing the central government of treating its region like a colony, Radio France Internationale reported.

The protests, which broke out in early September on the French Caribbean Island, have left 14 injured, including 11 police officers, and have been marked by gunfire, tear gas and looting.

Over the weekend, France’s local representatives instituted a nightly curfew and a ban on demonstrations in certain parts of the capital. After these restrictions were defied by thousands on the island taking to the streets in peaceful marches, an elite riot unit from France was deployed, the Associated Press reported.

That unit, known as the Companies for Republican Security, has been banned from Martinique for 65 years: During violent riots in 1959 in the territory, it was accused of using disproportionate force on protestors resulting in the deaths of young demonstrators.

The protesters now say they want the government to address soaring food prices on the island. According to the Guardian, residents of the territory pay an estimated 30 to 42 percent more for food than their counterparts in mainland France, but have nowhere near comparable wealth.

Last year, Gérald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, had pledged to tackle price-gouging by companies and anti-competitive practices such as monopolies that he said contributed to the high costs. However, demonstrators said that authorities and businesses have failed to do so or address any concerns effectively.

Shazi Chalon, an official with Saint Lucia’s consulate in Martinique, told the Guardian that many residents believe that the way France governs Martinique is inequitable: “In a majority-Black country, all of the people who hold the highest positions here … are from (mainland) France,” he said, adding that the local White population “wield most of the economic power in Martinique.”