1967 Guadeloupe riots

1967 Guadeloupe riots (May 67 Massacre) Guadeloupe Independence movement Fresque murale en hommage aux victimes de mai 1967, Point-à-Pitre.jpg A mural painted in the remembrance of the victims in Point-à-Pitre May 20 – May 28, 1967 Guadeloupe Racism, Socio-economic inequalities and Low Wages Increase of Wages, Separatism Riots, Traffic Obstruction and Civil disobedience France 18px Police Nationale 18px CRS 18px National Gendarmerie Mobile Gendarmerie Flag of Free France (1940-1944).svg UNR FLNG.svg Demonstrators FLNG.svg GONG Standard of the President of France.svg De GaulleGuadeloupe Pierre Bolotte FLNG.svg Jacques Nestor 30+ wounded ~87–200 killed The riots of May 1967 in Guadeloupe were clashes which occurred between gendarmes and demonstrators on the island during strikes following a racially motivated attack. The riots resulted in the deaths of 87 people (1985 estimate, 1967 estimate reported 7 deaths).fr Mai 1967 à Pointe-à-Pitre : « Un massacre d'Etat » L'Humanité 2017-05-25 https://www.humanite.fr/mai-1967-pointe-pitre-un-massacre-detat-636544fr-FR Guadeloupe, mai 1967 : un massacre aux zones encore troubles https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/guadeloupe-mai-1967-massacre-aux-zones-encore-troubles-477125.html Outre-mer la 1ère 24 May 2017 Other sources estimate the number to be between 80 and 200.Gladys M. Francis Dialogisme, exotisme et chaos en milieu antillais: André Breton et Gerty Dambury Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2018 https://www.academia.edu/4478441 La France dépêche des gendarmes mobiles sur l'île peu après l'ordonnance du préfet Pierre Bolotte qui autorise des CRS, tous blancs, à tirer sur les manifestants qui incluent des lycéens de Baimbridge protestant contre les tueries de badauds de la veille. Ces émeutes causent la mort de 80 à 200 ouvriers et passants guadeloupéens, contre 30 gendarmes blessés. Des syndicalistes et passants sont arrêtés, maltraités en prison et acquittés sous de faux chefs d'accusation. Au dossier de ces émeutes promptement scellé sous statut "secret défense" (jusqu'en 2017) se joint la destruction d'archives municipales et hospitalières qui accentuent le flou du compte des victimes. fr Background Guadeloupe, an island with a number of socio-economic inequalities between the peoples of European and African ancestry Rauzduel, Rosan Ethnie, Classes et Contradictions Culturelles en Guadeloupe Socio-anthropologie Publications de la Sorbonne 15 November 1998 4 10.4000/socio-anthropologie.132 1276-8707 https://journals.openedition.org/socio-anthropologie/132?lang=en free https://www.cairn.info/revue-le-mouvement-social-2010-1-page-79.htm 10.3917/lms.230.0079 La quête de l'égalité aux Antilles : La départementalisation et les manifestations des années 1950 2010 Dumont Jacques Le Mouvement Social 230 1 79–98 subscription significantly increased by the social transformation policies relaunched by the French government to compensate for the damage caused by Hurricane Inez .fr " Guadeloupe, mai 67 ", autopsie d'un " massacre " d'Etat Le Monde.fr 2023-06-30 https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2023/06/30/guadeloupe-mai-67-autopsie-d-un-massacre-d-etat_6179890_3232.html Moreover, due to the Decolonisation movements taking place in other parts of the world, similar separatist movements also began to take form in Guadeloupe, such as GONG but the Gaullist movement in France was not willing to negotiate because of the strategic location of the island.https://www.cairn.info/revue-politique-etrangere-2013-4-page-65.htm&wt.src=pdf) 10.3917/pe.134.0065 Les États-Unis et l'Amérique du Sud : Des voisins distants 2013 Vagnoux Isabelle Politique Étrangère Hiver 4 65–76 subscription So these movements came into direct conflict with the French authorities, police and paramilitaries.fr Elsa Dorlin Guadeloupe, mai 67 - Massacrer et laisser mourir 65 Libertalia 2023 Libertalia 978-2377292691 Timeline On March 20, 1967, Vladimir Snarsky, white owner of a large shoe store in Basse-Terre, unleashes his German Shepherd to chase away Raphaël Balzinc, an old black and disabled shoemaker who set up his stall in front of the store.fr 1967-1974 : les cadences troubles des Antilles françaises https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/juke-box/1967-1974-les-cadences-troubles-des-antilles-francaises-4031487 Radio France 2019-03-02fr Michelle Zancarini-Fournel Les luttes et les rêves Paris Éditions La Découverte 2016 785 978-2-35522-088-3 The white owner, was the local leader of the Gaullist UNR party, ironically asked his dog "Say hello to the nigger!" This racist incident sparked riots and strikes in Basse-Terre and Pointe-à-Pitre. Two squadrons of National Gendarmerie were deployed in Guadeloupe.Félix-Hilaire Fortuné La France et l'Outre-Mer antillais L'Harmattan 303 On May 24, 1967, construction workers in Guadeloupe went on strike to obtain a 2.5% salary increase and parity in social rights.http://www.vosgesmatin.fr/fr/permalien/article.html?iurweb=322166 Voges matin Les émeutes de mai 1967: 7 ou 87 morts ? On May 26, at noon, a crowd gathered in front of the Pointe-à-Pitre Chamber of Commerce and waited while negotiations took place between union organizations and the employer representatives. Around 12:45 p.m., they learned from a representative that the negotiations had broken down and rumors began to spread.fr En Guadeloupe, la tragédie de "Mé 67" refoulée Le Monde 2009-05-26 https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2009/05/26/en-guadeloupe-la-tragedie-de-me-67-refoulee_1198153_3224.html The employers' representative, Georges Brizzard, reportedly said: " When the Negroes are hungry, they will go back to work!". The Demonstrators started chanting " Djibouti, Djibouti" to recall the violence which had taken place there, with the French Army shooting separatist demonstrators on sight. The clashes began with tear gas grenades fired by the gendarmes against demonstrators who threw Lambi conch shells, stones and glass bottles. On the morning of May 26, Mobile Gendarmerie opened fire during violent demonstrations by strikers, causing several injuries.Gama 2011 When a gendarme took off his helmet to wipe his forehead, he received a violent blow to his head severely injuring him, the Mobile Gendarmerie open fire in retaliation, causing the death of Jacques Nestor, a prominent activist of the Guadeloupe National Organization Group. . According to the authorities, the firefight was initiated by demonstrators who opened fire first.Gama 2011 The French authorities initially believed the insurrection to be fomented by the GONG but investigations revealed the riots to be spontaneous. Some sources state that the opening of fire on demonstrators was knowingly approved by the French government.Quand, pour la dernière fois, les forces de l'ordre ont-elles tiré sur une foule en France ? https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/2018/12/07/quand-pour-la-derniere-fois-les-forces-de-l-ordre-ont-elles-tire-sur-une-foule-en-france_1696371 www.liberation.fr 7 December 2018 Casualties Demonstrators The official toll from the authorities at the time of the massacre was 7 to 8 dead. In 1985, the Secretary of State for the French Overseas Territories, Georges Lemoine, confirmed the death toll of at least 87 victims, cross-checked from several administrative sources, including the General Intelligence.François-Xavier Gomez, « « Mé 67 », la mémoire d'un massacre en Guadeloupe », Libération, 7 May 2015. Most estimates put the death toll between 80 and 200, exact death toll was difficult to determine due to the destruction of archives. MP Christiane Taubira put the death toll around one hundred.https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8fqmk_parlons-net-recoit-christiane-taubi_news dailymotion.com parlons net recoit christiane taubi Law enforcement More than 30 Gendarmes (some red kepis 'Mobile Gendarmerie"Un royaume antillais page 201) and members of the Republican Security Companies were reportedly injured by the demonstrators[UGTG.org] Les massacres des 26 & 27 mai 1967 à Pointe à Pitre http://ugtg.org/article_430.html ugtg.org Commemorations A mural was painted in remembrance of the victims on May 26, 2007 in Pointe-à-Pitre.fr-FR Hommage aux victimes de mai 1967 - Pointe-à-Pitre http://fr.guadeloupe-tourisme.com/239/hommage-aux-victimes-de-mai-1967-pointeapitre/ fr.guadeloupe-tourisme.com Commemorations of the victims were held in 2017, demanding the opening of classified archives. In popular culture In Music Biloute, a song by Mé swasannsèt, album Rékòlt, 2010 Bibliographies Jacques Le Cornec, A West Indian kingdom: of stories and dreams and mixed peoples, L'Harmattan, 2005 Raymond Gama and Jean Pierre Sainton, Mé 67, Guadeloupean publishing and distribution company, 1985 Jean Plumasseau, In the name of the fatherland, Éditions Nestor, 2012 fr Raymond Gama Mé 67:mémoire d'un événement Port-Louis Éd. Lespwisavann Gama 2011 2011 978-2-9527540-4-0 779736808fr Jean-Pierre Sainton Raymond Gama Mé 67; mémoire d'un événement Soged 1985 Soged https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01616022 Television documentaries "May 1967 in Guadeloupe, investigation into a forgotten massacre" on January 15, 2014 in 50 years of news stories on 13th street and on Planète+ Justice . "May 1967, Police repression in Guadeloupe" broadcast by Fabrice Desplan, France Ô . "May 67 – Don't shoot the children of the republic" by Mike Horn, 2017, France Ô . "The debate: May 67, the legacy of a revolt". Historical magazine presented by Fabrice d'Almeida in Histoire d'Outre-Mer, France Ô (broadcast on 01/31/2018) Audio documentaries Rendez with avec X, par Patrick Pesnot on France Inter, 7 March 2009: « May 1967 : The massacre at Pointe-à-Pitre.fr Mai 1967 : émeutes et massacre à Pointe-à-Pitre du 07 mars 2009 - France Inter https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/rendez-vous-avec-x/rendez-vous-avec-x-07-mars-2009 www.franceinter.fr 7 March 2009 Sensitive affairs, by Fabrice Drouelle on France Inter, broadcast on Thursday April 28, 2016: "When the blacks are hungry, they will return to work" Guadeloupe, May 67, a bloody repression.fr « Lorsque les nègres auront faim, ils reprendront le travail » Guadeloupe, Mai 67, la répression sanglante du 28 avril 2016 - France Inter https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/affaires-sensibles/affaires-sensibles-28-avril-2016 www.franceinter.fr 28 April 2016 fr Jean-Pierre Anselme Guadeloupe, mai 1967, la répression sanglante https://blogs.mediapart.fr/jean-pierre-anselme/blog/270516/guadeloupe-mai-1967-la-repression-sanglante Club de Mediapart 28 May 2016 Internet Documentaries "Diable Positif: The massacre of May 67", posted online on May 10, 2020.Diable Positif Le massacre de mai 1967 YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGS2U5bqoAQ 10 May 2020 Racisme d'Etat : "Le déni est bien construit" - Par La rédaction Arrêt sur images https://www.arretsurimages.net/emissions/arret-sur-images/racisme-detat-le-deni-est-bien-construit www.arretsurimages.net Press articles "50 years ago, the Guadeloupean demonstrations ended in massacre", on Slate.fr Emeline Amétis Il y a 50 ans, les manifestations guadeloupéennes s'étaient terminées en massacre http://www.slate.fr/story/142157/guadeloupe-massacre Slate.fr 2017-03-29 "From the forgotten massacres of May 1967 in Guadeloupe to the beginnings of the modern security order in the neighborhoods", on Bastamag.fr Mathieu Rigouste Des massacres oubliés de mai 1967 en Guadeloupe aux prémices de l'ordre sécuritaire moderne dans les quartiers https://www.bastamag.net/Des-massacres-oublies-de-mai-1967-en-Guadeloupe-aux-premices-de-l-ordre Basta ! 29 May 2017 Novels May 67, by Thomas Cantaloube (Gallimard, the Black Series, 2023) (in French) Where dogs bark by their tails, by Estelle-Sarah Bulle (Liana Levi, 2018) (in French) References Category:Guadeloupe Category:1960s in Guadeloupe Category:1967 labor disputes and strikes Category:1967 conflicts