In Pointe-à-Pitre, minors must now stay at home in the evening. The curfew, ordered during a visit to Guadeloupe by the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, came into force Monday evening for a period of one month “renewable”, indicated the prefect Xavier Lefort.
This curfew is effective “between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.” for those under 18, “in the city of Pointe-à-Pitre with the exception of the Lauricisque district” and “in the districts of Grand- Camp and from Vieux-Bourg to Abymes,” said the prefect of Guadeloupe.
A “strong signal”
Thirty-five police officers and around fifteen gendarmes were deployed Monday evening for “explanations and the concrete implementation of the decree”, before an “adaptation” of the means. The zone was determined based on “the most frequent occurrence of delinquency”, underlined the prefect.
This decree is “a strong signal”, intended to “keep minors safe” in a context of “increase in delinquency, and in particular armed robberies” and in order to “restrict and limit this juvenile delinquency which is extremely marked increase in these two municipalities,” he added. According to him, “40% of delinquency committed by minors is committed by minors aged 15 to 17.”
Violators of this curfew face a fine of up to 750 euros, but which will be applied with “discernment”, according to the prefect. Charles-Edouard Leffect, municipal councilor of Abymes in charge of security, on the other hand expressed a reservation about the chosen time: he would have preferred “10 p.m. to allow the holding of associative and sporting activities”. “We are at 8 p.m. in the middle of the night” and “40% of delinquency is committed between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.,” argued the prefect.