Hot Topics from Martinique and the Caribbean – Edition 6 - Outre-mer La 1ère

A weekly selection, in English, of the news stories that made the headlines in Martinique. We've got all the angles covered, politics, economy, society, culture and sport.

"Pran Lanvol", represents the wings of the endemic White throated mockingbird that only lives on the Caravelle in the town of Trinité. · ©Caroline Popovic Guilty of  “glorification of terrorism on social media”, a Martinique resident gets a 12-month jail sentence :On his Facebook page, Patrick M. commented on a terrorist attack that took place on the 23rd of October in the French town of Trappes. One person was killed and 5 others injured. The victims are all of African descent. Patrick M. wrote that “it was good, the big clean up has started” and he recommended that more people like Kevin, the name of attacker, were needed. His racist comments were condemned by all sectors of the society.

Patrick M’s lawyer claimed that his client, who has lived in Martinique for 14 years and is married to a Black man, showed poor judgement. In addition to his prison term, Patrick M. is forbidden from living in Martinique for the next 3 years.

The respiratory virus that affects children continues to progress in Martinique. Nearly 30 infants under the age of one have visited the emergency department and half of them have been hospitalized. Every year, bronchiolitis affects nearly one third of children under the age of 2 in Martinique. It is one of the principal causes of pediatric hospitalisation.

 On Tuesday, 27th of October, the Marine police in St. Lucia alerted the maritime rescue services in Martinique (CROSS AG) that a 24 year old fisherman had not returned to port as expected after spending a night fishing near the southern town of Soufrière.  He and his boat, the Hope and Pray, were officially missing. His family alerted the authorities before setting out themselves to look for the young fisherman.  A plane from the Dutch Caribbean coastguard in Curacao found the fisherman as well the second boat carrying his family members. An oil tanker returned them to St. Lucia.

In the town of Morne Rouge in the north of Martinique, a group of farmers who have worked several acres of rented land for more than 40 years, fear they about to lose their farms. In 2025, the land, comprising 100 hectares, was sold to a private, non-profit group (Safer Martinique) responsible for rural lands. The farmers oppose a scheme that will enable them to purchase lots. They prefer to continue renting.

For 2 consecutive nights, Meryl, the sensational dancehall singer from Martinique filled the Accor Arena in Paris with 20,000 fans per concert. Each night, she celebrated her Caribbean culture with carnival groupes and special guests.

During the half-term vacations, young basketball players learned how to referee a match. The training programme gave them a better understanding of the rules of the game. It was also a way to encourage players to improve their skills and also to become umpires when they no longer play the sport competitively.

The first leg of King Charles's Caribbean tour was a 3 day visit to the Bahamas where the demand for reparations is high on the agenda. The British monarch stuck to the script written by the British government that there were to be no apologies made for the slave trade. The reparations committee was forbidden from giving the King its petition.The King of England met young Bahamians and visited environmental projects. His speeches made veiled references to the "darkness" and the "obscurity" that marked the history of the Caribbean. According to to the Bahamas national committe for reparations, "We need King Charles to talk about his role in our dark and obscure history and how he and the British government plan on atoning for it”.

The Prime minister of St. Kitts and Nevis admits that intense neck massages caused his stroke :

Upon his return to St. Kitts and Nevis after nearly 3 months of recovery from a stroke, Prime minister Terrance Drew announced at a public rally that deep neck massages that he received during his vacation had caused a tear in one of his arteries that supplied oxygenated blood to his brain. His symptoms of dizzines and his loss of balance prompted urgent medical evacuation to Martinique and then to the United States.

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