Macron Characterizes Situation in French Overseas Department of Guadeloupe as 'Explosive'

© LUDOVIC MARINFrench President Emmanuel Macron gives a speech during a debate with local representatives and public and private actors involved in renovation projects during a visit to Amiens focused on the attractivity of the Somme department, on November 22, 2021.
French President Emmanuel Macron gives a speech during a debate with local representatives and public and private actors involved in renovation projects during a visit to Amiens focused on the attractivity of the Somme department, on November 22, 2021.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 22.11.2021
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PARIS (Sputnik) - The situation in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, where protests against sanitary measures and mandatory vaccinations have led to clashes and violence, is "very explosive," French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday.
"The current situation is very explosive ... There are people who are trying to take advantage of it," Macron said during his trip to Amiens as aired by French BFMTV broadcaster.
He stressed that it is necessary to continue to convince protesters that vaccination is the best defence and that health can be neither played with nor used for political struggle.
The French leader also called on the residents of Guadeloupe not to succumb to manipulation by opponents of vaccination.
Earlier on Monday, 40 people were detained as a result of outbreaks of violence in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, two police officers were injured. According to the prefecture, on the night from Saturday to Sunday, groups of people, many of whom armed, tried to loot and smash shops in the towns of the region. Burning barriers were erected in the streets.
A protester holds a placard that reads No to the health passport during a demonstration called by the French nationalist party Les Patriotes (The Patriots) against France's restrictions to fight the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, on the Droits de l'Homme (human rights) esplanade at the Trocadero Square in Paris, France, July 24, 2021. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier - Sputnik International, 1920, 03.10.2021
Thousands Protest Against COVID-19 Health Passes Across France - Reports
In August, French authorities enhanced lockdown measures in some overseas territories over a rise in hospitalizations caused by the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant, known to be more contagious.
From August 9, sanitary passes in France are mandatory for visiting cafes, restaurants, as well as for flights and trips on long-distance trains. The document assumes the passage of the full cycle of vaccination against COVID-19, the presence of a negative test for coronavirus infection or confirmation of having recovered from COVID-19.
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