“Lyannaj Kont Pwofitasyon” (LKP), Union against exploitation. A fire that sparked in Guadeloupe, then spread to Martinique now threatens to blaze even farther.

Sana Harb, Algiers

This all began with a mere protest against the high cost of living there, a movement that struck a chord with the Guadeloupian people who were tired of the lasting colonial anachronism that the French flag embodies. “Guadeloupe belongs to us, not them!” cried protesters. The “them” refers to the companies owned by a minority of whites, locally called béké, who are descendants of colonists and have a firm grip on the local economy. Their prices are often 30% higher than those in France.

“In mixed families, the children are of different colours. It is not harmonious. I don’t think that’s a good thing. We wanted to preserve the purity of the race.” 

Gas prices there remain high despite oil prices plummeting. France seems a distant place. The prefect representing the French Republic stayed at the home of the of 80 year old béké, Alain Huygues-Despointes, who uttered racist remarks during a report on Canal + auteur de propos racistes dans un reportage diffusé sur Canal+. “In mixed families, the children are of different colours. It is not harmonious. I don’t think that’s a good thing. We wanted to preserve the purity of the race” he said while criticising historians for only talking about “the negative aspects of slavery, which is unfortunate.” The prefect of Martinique Ange Mancini, who presided over the negotiations during a general strike across the island, cleaned things up afterwards but the symbol remained – a distant republic that clings to an anachronistic system.

A distant republic, an anachronistic system

In an interview in the Libération newspaper, the economist Pascal Perri, provides a diagnosis of the profound causes that have led to the current social movement. “Guadeloupe remains in a colonial and monopolistic economic system. Certainly, the plantations have disappeared but the descendants of the planters are now heads of distribution and import-export companies. This is no small fact on an island that imports 90% of everything it consumes. The lack of competition is particularly striking in the French West Indies.” Perri’s comments echo the sentiments of a union worker who describes the fight against “pwofitasyon” as “a second abolition movement.” Indeed, the movement, which buried unionist Jacques Bino on Sunday the 22nd, who was fatally shot in dubious circumstances, is gathering support from the French leftwing political community and embarrassing the government.

 Yves Jégo : “The conflict between the colonists and slaves has exploded in our faces.”

Egged on by strikers, José Bové denounced, “the neo-colonial regime that exists in Guadeloupe” and “the plantation structured economy that exists to the detriment of the local population.” For him, LKP’s fight “goes far beyond financial considerations,” and is a question of “cultural identity and the struggle for the right to food.” Olivier Besancenot, spokesman for the New Anti-capitalist Party and Ségolène Royal also made the trip to the French West Indies.

Ideas for the Left in France

While the French government fears the spread of this social unrest to other overseas departments, LKP’s fight is inciting “militant” interest in mainland France where a social movement is also gathering strength. Some 15,000 persons protested in Paris to support the LKP. Even if this fight is about more than basic financial concerns, the demand for a 200 euro increase on base salaries is at the core of the negotiations led by the LKP. The MEDEF is stalling. Sarkozy, who had failed to mention the situation in the French West Indies, the 5th of February, during his televised address, decided to get involved. This is because the movement is gaining strength even if a certain degree if calm has recently become apparent. “This crisis is highlighting something other than a social crisis. The structure of the economy is completely archaic and is a vestige of the colonial era […] Much needs to be done in terms of culture and history […] the conflict between the colonists and slaves has exploded in our faces.” These are not the words of José Bové or Olivier Besancenot. These are the remarks of the very official and overwhelmed overseas territory Secretary of State, Yves Jégo.