French minister flies to Caribbean islands after mooting autonomy

A French minister flew to the protest-hit islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Caribbean on Sunday after raising the possibility of giving the Paris-ruled territories greater autonomy.

Sebastien Lecornu, who is responsible for overseas French territories, said Friday the government was ready to discuss giving the islands a degree of self-government in a bid to end more than 10 days of protests and rioting sparked by Covid-19 restrictions.

It sparked immediate condemnation from opposition politicians five months ahead of presidential elections, with far-right Marine Le Pen accusing him of "trying to buy off the most radical independence groups" and being ready to "give away" the islands.

In an interview published Sunday in the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, Lecornu defended the idea and denied opening the door to them splitting from France.

"Autonomy is certainly not independence: it already exists for certain overseas territories to various degrees," he explained. 

An aide to the minister told that the situation was "calm" on both islands overnight on Saturday-Sunday.

Former colonial-power France saw most of its overseas possessions seek independence around 60 years ago, but it retains control over 12 territories in the Indian and Pacific Oceans as well as in the Caribbean. 

They are home to 2.6 million French people.

Guadeloupe and Martinique are ruled as if they were on mainland France, but locals complain about higher-than-average poverty levels, poorer public services and official neglect.