I’m sympathetic to protest and maybe some inconvenience that is handled by rerouting. I’m not sympathetic to bodily harm. A little worried a couple weeks out. Hope the Gendarmes figure a way to keep the holidays safe.
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.
St. Martin is in process of returning to normal operations following a series of sporadic civil demonstrations that took place in Marigot yesterday. Limited roadblocks are still in place affecting traffic and accessibility on the roads. The President and Territorial Councilors are calling for calm and restraint as they seek to address concerns raised by the protestors. With minimized taxi and transportation services operating until further notice, we ask that cruises recommend visitors enjoy the attractions and restaurants in Sint Maarten and choose St. Martin during their next visit. To our hotel and villa partners, we suggest recommending that guests refrain from venturing out on tours and enjoy their amenities and activities on-property or within walking distance until further notice. We are closely monitoring the situation and will issue updates as soon as traffic resumes to normal. Valérie Damaseau Aida Weinum President Director of Tourism
However they DO NOT have it under control. "In the process" is crap. Some people got around early this morning, but they will fire things up again. Does anyone know when the 300 extra French troops and police will arrive?
"It is good to do nothing all day, and then to rest"
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....
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..
BeachKitten, can you post a link to where you got the information from the French Tourist Office? I'm scheduled to start my travels to SXM on Wednesday arriving on Thursday. Staying at Palm Court. So I'm seriously considering cancelling my 2 week trip.
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.
Let's hope they don't figure that out and attempt to block Anse Marcel.
Your car rental company needs to understand and take a chill pill. Hopefully you can leave it somewhere safe and they need to retrieve it later. Is Sax a Dutch side rental? I would pressure the resort to have someone employed there give you a ride to the dock. Forget no taxi service.
"It is good to do nothing all day, and then to rest"
That was yesterday. Today, the AXA private shuttles are taking a longer route, via Simpson Bay and avoiding going under the bridge and the French side of St. Martin.
Correct me if I am wrong but weren't the last few protests held without incident, just protesting with no violence? It's quite simple to realize who the flame throwers are. The so called hoodlums from St. Martin that cause trouble where ever they go. They are getting in a good thing for them to keep up on their gangster pranks and what a great time to join in. They love it, won't even get In trouble with the law. Most of them probably don't even know what they are protesting for, they just want to join in and raise he!!.
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.
L’Auberge owners son arriving at 4.30pm from Miami. He has arranged a taxi to Nettle Bay and then a private boat to take him to Grand Case but all this has to be done before dark... going to be tight. Think he will not open tonight. His staff cannot get in to work. Had lunch in a restaurant today next to Skipjacks. Very pleasant staff indeed but food not the best at all. What was cool were the men’s toilet. Spoke to a waitress who has to come from the French side and she said that people do have a right to object to having their properties and land basically taken away from them as they are not allowed to rebuild but does object to the way and manner the strikes are being conducted by hoodlums.
Not sure what "They are not in the business currently." Not sure what that means? 24 hour security has always been my choice. This is so not good for tourism and it will not spill over to the Dutch side it will still effect tourist on both sides.
That was yesterday. Today, the AXA private shuttles are taking a longer route, via Simpson Bay and avoiding going under the bridge and the French side of St. Martin.
According to this, affects today as well.
"It is good to do nothing all day, and then to rest"
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....
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.
The boats are leaving via the Police Station in Simpson Bay. I helped our first client today , first timer to a place close to our home today . No chances needed .
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.
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.
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 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; 12/15/201907:26 AM. Reason: correct quotes
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