1 killed in unrest on French Island Guadeloupe

BASSE-TERRE, Guadeloupe – A man was shot dead as he drove during the night during riots and protests over the high cost of living, officials said Wednesday – the first fatality in a nearly month-old strike that has hammered this French Caribbean island’s tourist industry and paralyzed daily life.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon’s office in Paris condemned the slaying and said the circumstances were being investigated. He urged all involved to “stop the violence that is traumatizing all of Guadeloupe.”

More than 2,000 people in Martinique, a nearby French island, marched through the capital Fort-de-France Wednesday in honor of the man killed in Guadeloupe.

Jacques Bino, a tax agent and union member, was fatally shot in a housing project in Pointe-a-Pitre as he drove home after attending a Tuesday night meeting with the LKP Collective, which organized the strike, said Nicolas Desforges, the top appointed official on the island.

Police and emergency workers could not reach Bino around midnight (0400 GMT) because rioters shot at them with hunting rifles, Desforges said by telephone. When police finally reached Bino three hours later, he was dead at the wheel.

France’s minister for overseas departments, Yves Jego, said Bino was “assassinated by rioters.” The central government in Paris called a special meeting Wednesday to discuss security on Guadeloupe and Martinique.

“Guadeloupe is nearly exploding,” said protest leader Elie Domota. He joined the government in calling for calm, but also blamed France for the situation.

The monthlong strike for lower prices and higher salaries has shuttered stores and schools in Guadeloupe – like Martinique, an integral part of France.