The French overseas territory of Guadeloupe saw a wave of violent protests that broke out overnight into Friday, resulting in at least one police officer injured while law enforcement clashed with demonstrators.
According to the Caribbean island's prefecture, the police faced gunfire and Molotov cocktails when it tried to tackle the unrest. The protesters were also said to have attacked the officers with stones.
The injured gendarme was wounded by a bullet, the prefecture said, and was transferred to a nearby hospital.
"The prefecture condemns these unspeakable acts and offers its support to the injured person", said an official statement.
Earlier, the prefecture tweeted that there were "demonstrations and blockades" in the area of downtown Pointe-à-Pitre.
Videos apparently depicting the chaos in Guadeloupe on Friday were later shared online, with reports of "live ammunition" fired at the police, and footage showing fiery blockades on the roads and plumes of smoke rising into the sky.
The situation was described by social media users as "extremely tense".
According to the reports, the rioters were expressing their anger over the restrictions imposed amid the spread of the coronavirus, like the suspension of some non-vaccinated employees. Aside from this, the protesters were unhappy with the poor living conditions on the island, one user reported.
In December, the city of Basseterre in Guadeloupe saw several hundred people storm the regional council building. At the time, according to reports, regional deputies were holding their last plenary session of the year, and had to be evacuated from the room before protesters reached them.
The December incident took place shortly after the local authorities imposed a curfew due to the rising violence amid COVID-19 protests in November. French President Emmanuel Macron described the Guadeloupe situation as "very explosive" at the time.
There were no immediate comments from the French authorities regarding Friday's unrest in Guadeloupe.