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Re: French side protest today
[Re: PelicanPirate]
#211238
12/14/2019 08:35 AM
12/14/2019 08:35 AM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,763 Ohio
ruralcarrier
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,763
Ohio
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It should be safe ALL the time, not just for the holidays. This is out of control. A local friend who lives on the French side (French Quarter) said he is not leaving his house until this is resolved as he fears for his life at this point. Burning tires, cars, looting, etc. is not protesting it is destroying property and endangering life and livelihoods of many and may have a long lasting effect on tourism, especially on the French side.
J.D.
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Re: French side protest today
[Re: Carol_Hill]
#211241
12/14/2019 09:04 AM
12/14/2019 09:04 AM
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,763 Ohio
ruralcarrier
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,763
Ohio
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Here is a FB group I found about traffic on the island. SXM TRAFFIC
J.D.
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Re: French side protest today
[Re: BeachKitten]
#211251
12/14/2019 09:58 AM
12/14/2019 09:58 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 83,601 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
OP
Traveler
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OP
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 83,601
Central Florida!
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Wow, I hope this gets resolved soon. I never would have thought to read such stories about St. Martin. I do understand the underlying frustration though I cannot condone the violence. It is really scary to me, that a local is scared to go out....
Carol Hill
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Re: French side protest today
[Re: BeachKitten]
#211255
12/14/2019 10:05 AM
12/14/2019 10:05 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 83,601 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
OP
Traveler
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OP
Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 83,601
Central Florida!
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20 gendarmes?? Not sure where the 300 number came from, but 20 isn't much.... I was kind of wondering, reading the story, how a plane holding 300 people was going to land in Grand Case..
Carol Hill
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Re: French side protest today
[Re: Carol_Hill]
#211302
12/14/2019 02:27 PM
12/14/2019 02:27 PM
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,081 Clearwater, FL
Biturbo
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,081
Clearwater, FL
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We're taking a boat from Anse Marcel to the airport Sunday. 50 Euro pp. The car rental (Sax) is giving us a hassle about leaving our car there but we have no options. There is no taxi service from O'Paradis to the dock.
I'm going where the weather suits my clothes.
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Re: French side protest today
[Re: BeachKitten]
#211321
12/14/2019 03:53 PM
12/14/2019 03:53 PM
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,081 Clearwater, FL
Biturbo
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,081
Clearwater, FL
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Yes, Sax is a Dutch side company, and they do need to chill. The parking area in Anse Marcel is no less secure than the front of where we're staying - it's a 4 unit guesthouse. We tried to find an alternative but the boat is our best option. We'll take pictures of the car. We'll also notify our cc company as soon as we get to the airport.
I'm going where the weather suits my clothes.
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Re: French side protest today
[Re: Carol_Hill]
#211327
12/14/2019 05:32 PM
12/14/2019 05:32 PM
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 18,592 St Maarten
BillandElaine
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 18,592
St Maarten
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This email was sent to owners at Orient Bay this afternoon. It's from their security department.
Subject: Re: AVIS MANIFESTATION
Here it is
Hello everyone,
We have just been informed that several groups of demonstrators would likely come to completely block Parc de la Baie East.
We would like to point out that all types of behavior are Possible ...
We are currently taking all necessary measures to be able to ensure your safety and that of Orient Bay Park.
We also requested the services of the Gendarmerie so that they lend us a hand, but they are not in the business currently.
We ask all residents to stay at home so avoid any overflows.
We will keep you informed as much as possible.
We thank you.
The ARES Security team.
Elaine ********************************* God Bless the broken road....
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Re: French side protest today
[Re: BeachKitten]
#211330
12/14/2019 05:55 PM
12/14/2019 05:55 PM
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 18,592 St Maarten
BillandElaine
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 18,592
St Maarten
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Talking to some tourists at the Boon today. Arrived this am and could not get to their rental at Grand Case Beach Club due to the road blockade. They found rooms on St Barth and were taking the ferry from Simpson Bay. No ferry from Marigot.
Elaine ********************************* God Bless the broken road....
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Re: French side protest today
[Re: sxmmartini]
#211331
12/14/2019 05:56 PM
12/14/2019 05:56 PM
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 18,592 St Maarten
BillandElaine
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 18,592
St Maarten
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It's a Google translation from French. Take it for what it's worth.
Elaine ********************************* God Bless the broken road....
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Re: French side protest today
[Re: Carol_Hill]
#211333
12/14/2019 06:28 PM
12/14/2019 06:28 PM
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 18,592 St Maarten
BillandElaine
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 18,592
St Maarten
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It tells me what I want to know, and my friends in Orient also.
Elaine ********************************* God Bless the broken road....
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Re: French side protest today
[Re: BeachKitten]
#211334
12/14/2019 06:30 PM
12/14/2019 06:30 PM
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 588 Las Vegas, NV, USA
Ellen777
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 588
Las Vegas, NV, USA
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Yes, you are correct, the port is closed for sure, but they are no longer going the old route as depicted in the video, they are taking the longer route, for safety's sake.
Last edited by Ellen777; 12/14/2019 06:35 PM.
Life's a beach
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Re: French side protest today
[Re: Carol_Hill]
#211346
12/14/2019 09:03 PM
12/14/2019 09:03 PM
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 588 Las Vegas, NV, USA
Ellen777
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 588
Las Vegas, NV, USA
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They are just the small shuttle boats, the big ferries are not going at this time. I hope this gets resolved for all. Anguilla travelers are very concerned and I am sure SXM people are as well. I would hate to get to PJIA with a plan of taking the public ferry, only to find I could not, and have all the shuttles booked. Same on the return. I know many people would be at a loss as to what to do. Not everyone reads the internet, and it would be a real shock for some.
Life's a beach
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Re: French side protest today
[Re: bran]
#211347
12/14/2019 09:36 PM
12/14/2019 09:36 PM
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Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 1
RonSchaffner
Member
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Member
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 1
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Here is our experience on Friday afternoon/evening re St. Martin Blockages:
On Friday afternoon/evening we tried three routes to get to our rental which was at Yellow Sub near Bikini Beach Bar on Orient Bay.
1. The west side route to Marigot was blocked but we could not observe the blockage directly. We just saw vehicles backing up. We had to turn around. Shortly afterwards the St. Maarten police came and closed the road.
2. On the east side, the main route was blocked just north of McDonald’s (corner of Illidge and Bishop Hill roads). There was a barricade at the border, and we could see that the road on the French side - St. Martin Road up the hill - was covered with boulders for about 100 meters. There were a few people milling around the barricade, no threatening behavior. We talked to some of them, who told us there was no way to get to Orient Bay.
3. We then tried to use Coralita Road to bypass that blockage. There was a blockade of burned cars near the border, but it was not manned. We, and several other vehicles, drove around it, so we actually got onto French territory for a brief time. However, near where Coralita Road enters the built-up area of Orleans in the French Quarter, the road was blocked by burned vehicles. At that point we were surrounded by yelling children, banging on our car windows and demanding money to let us through. There were adults watching from a distance. It was clear that there was no way to get a vehicle past that barricade, so we turned around and found lodging at Simpson Bay.
Last edited by RonSchaffner; 12/14/2019 09:37 PM.
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Re: French side protest today
[Re: Carol_Hill]
#211348
12/14/2019 09:48 PM
12/14/2019 09:48 PM
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,081 Clearwater, FL
Biturbo
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,081
Clearwater, FL
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Thanks, Carol. Someone from Sax actually texted my wife and apologized, that he understood our situation and to leave the car @ Anse Marcel and they would get it as soon as possible. This has been a wonderful two weeks up until 3 days ago. We took lots of notes for a TR.
I'm going where the weather suits my clothes.
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Re: French side protest today
[Re: Carol_Hill]
#211360
12/15/2019 07:08 AM
12/15/2019 07:08 AM
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Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 62
Lucky13
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 62
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I’m on the island now and thought I’d pass along some info. I was driving through Simpson Bay last evening with the radio tuned to 105 listening to a bouncy Caribbean tune when I realized that the song was about the French side protests. How someone wrote and recorded a song that quickly I have no idea, but it was very clearly within the last day or two because the lyrics were talking about burning cars and blocking the bridge in Sandy Ground. They were also about how frustrated and angry the people are.
None of that is news at this point, but what was news to me was the racial tension expressed in the song. The chorus of the song spoke about how the government only works for white people, that it doesn’t work for “the colors” and that if you want government to work you have to be “whitey-tighty”. Those are quotes from the song.
Keep in mind this was being sung by a St Martiner to other St Martiners.
These protests are not just about PPRN. There is a racial aspect to the unrest that shouldn’t be ignored. One of complaints mentioned in the articles about the protests was alleged unfair treatment of locals relative to “metropolitans”, i.e. French nationals from the mainland. It makes the earlier comment about encountering a local on the French side who said “I actually like Americans” a little more understandable. It also puts the video of the attack by the bridge occupiers on a tourist ferry in a different perspective.
This tells me that whatever the trigger of the protests was, the underlying tensions run much deeper, and will be much more difficult to resolve than just fixing the PPRN. It also explains why the reaction by the Gendarmes has been relatively restrained. The gendarmes are all metropolitans - there are no local police on the French side - so a strong reaction by the Gendarmes would only feed the sentiment that the government is biased in favor of the metropolitans against the locals. The French government is almost in a no win situation. As of right now, the protestors run the French side, and unless cooler heads prevail soon, any escalation by authorities could make the situation a lot, lot worse.
Last edited by Lucky13; 12/15/2019 07:26 AM. Reason: correct quotes
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Re: French side protest today
[Re: Lucky13]
#211361
12/15/2019 07:26 AM
12/15/2019 07:26 AM
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 7,593 Vermont
sxmmartini
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 7,593
Vermont
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Thank You for your post... Lucky 13 This escalation is seeded in something far beyond the PPRN PPRN was a spark that sadly started an inferno! https://youtu.be/ILzJP5qChSk
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