France is sending police special forces to restore order in the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe hit by rioting and looting amid protests against COVID-19 protocols, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Saturday, Trend citing Reuters.
"The first message is that the state will stand firm," Darmanin told reporters after holding a crisis meeting on the situation in the Caribbean archipelago with Overseas Territory Minister Sebastien Lecornu.
Darmanin said France would send about 50 members of the GIGN and RAID elite tactical forces of the gendarmerie and police to the territory, where stores have been looted, shots fired at police, and 31 people were arrested overnight.
The extra forces will increase the number of police and gendarmes available in Guadeloupe to 2,250, Darmanin said.