They will be there at least until May. A squadron of 72 mobile gendarmes sent to Martinique at the end of November to fight against violence on the island will be maintained, announced on Monday the Minister of the Interior and Overseas, Gérald Darmanin. A gendarmerie tactical group and a second mobile gendarmerie squadron, i.e. 72 additional gendarmes, had been deployed in Martinique a few days after a shooting which left several injured.
According to the ministry, after six weeks, nearly 9,950 checks have been carried out and 175 individuals arrested. “The gendarmes carried out 12 targeted operations on deal points resulting in the seizure of 56 kg of cannabis, 50 kg of herbs and 39 kg of cocaine” and “two night operations per week” were carried out, one on “urban rodeos (leading to several confiscations) and an operation to fight against delinquency on the outskirts of the sensitive district of Terres-Sainville and in the city center of Fort de France”.
Decline in armed robbery
According to the ministry, “no firearm homicides have been perpetrated since mid-November, no aggravated acts of violence similar to those of November 2022 have occurred and armed robberies which have experienced an exponential increase. since the summer fell by 50% in December”. These results prompted Gérald Darmanin and the Minister Delegate for Overseas Territories, Jean-François Carenco, to maintain the mobile gendarmerie squadron, “at least until May”.
The sending of reinforcements, requested by the prefect of Martinique Jean-Christophe Bouvier, had been decided after the shootings which occurred in two nocturnal leisure establishments in mid-November in the commune of Rivière-Salée (South) during which eight people had been injured. The fight against drug trafficking and the circulation of firearms are a priority in Martinique where 25 homicides were committed during the year 2022.