BASSE-TERRE, Guadeloupe – THE month-long general strike in Guadeloupe turned violent yesterday (Feb. 15), as police fired tear gas at protesters who set fire to roadblocks.

According to Caribbean Net News, gangs of protesters have also smashed storefront windows, looted shops and torched cars.

The police have arrested 12 persons and surrounded 40 demonstrators in Le Gosier, a district in the capital. Police reports state that those detained have been accused of impeding traffic and throwing rocks at the police.

Leaders of the grouping of unions and political parties, known as the Collective against Exploitation or LKP, had promised to increase the intensity of their actions this week due to the French government’s refusal to accede to their demand for a monthly $260 salary increase for low-income earners.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy announced plans to meet with officials from Guadeloupe and other overseas territories to assess the situation. The general strike, which was launched in January over low wages and the high cost of living, has crippled the country and forced the closure of schools, petrol stations and government offices.

LKP Leader Elie Domota has accused the French government of preparing to kill protesters to bring an end to the strike.

“Given the number of soldiers who have arrived in Guadeloupe armed to the teeth, the French state has chosen its natural path, which is to kill Guadeloupians as usual.

“Every time there have been demonstrations in Guadeloupe to demand pay rises, the response of the state has been repression, notably in May 1967 in Pointe-a-Pitre where there were 100 deaths because workers were massacred by soldiers,” he said.

Domota’s accusation came as some supermarkets and petrol stations, which had been closed for more than three weeks, reopened over the weekend as police stood by to protect the premises against potential protests by strikers on the tropical island. LKP leaders say they do not intend to halt the strike.

The protest has since spread to Martinique and to the Indian Ocean island of Reunion. There are fears that it could spread to mainland France, where persons are also displeased with the high cost of living and have taken to the streets to protest on many previous occasions.