France delays vaccine mandate for health workers in riot-hit Caribbean islands

PARIS, (Reuters) France has postponed implementing a COVID19 vaccination mandate for health workers in Martinique and Guadeloupe after the measure spurred widespread protests on the French territories in which police officers were injured and journalists attacked.

The two Caribbean islands have been hit by unrest over the last week after the French government imposed tougher measures to curb the spread of the virus.

Compulsory vaccinations for health workers, a measure already introduced on the French mainland, had fuelled resentment among the islands' majority Black population.

The French health ministry said in a statement after a crisis government meeting on Friday that it had decided to postpone to Dec. 31 "finalising the implementation of the vaccine mandate" in Martinique and Guadeloupe.

It had put those who refused inoculation on unpaid leave but now says it will give those suspended more time for individual "dialogue" with their managers while still getting paid.