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The people of the French Caribbean persist in their efforts to ensure reparations for the damage caused by years of chlordecone poisoning. Supported by a united front of lawyers and selected political representatives, as of May and June 2023, respectively, a popular front has pledged to pool in resources and forces to ensure that all responsibilities of the French state are fulfilled.
The impacts of chlordecone on health in Martinique and Guadeloupe has been recognized for decades, but the past few years have seen a resurgence of discussions on this matter. In September 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the islands and admitted France’s share of responsibility, calling the chlordecone pollution an environmental scandal and urging the State to take responsibility. Macron’s visit was followed by a threat by the public prosecutor to dismiss criminal complaints submitted in 2006 and 2007 due to time limitations. This sparked a demonstration on February 27, 2021, in Fort-de-France, where around 15,000 people gathered to reject the possibility of dismissal.
On June 24, 2022, administrative judicial authorities recognized the State’s accountability for the pesticide’s misuse, leading to a fresh popular effort to achieve health justice for the people of the French Caribbean.
Communities drenched in chlordecone
Chlordecone pollution in Martinique and Guadeloupe started in 1972 when the highly toxic organochlorine insecticide was introduced to combat the banana weevil. The banana industry became the main focus of agricultural development, replacing sugarcane monoculture, despite the need for agricultural diversification. Banana exports to lucrative foreign markets brought subsidies primarily to large landowners, such as the Békées families, descendants of French colonists, and served as a political tool to promote social stability amid demands for independence and autonomy. Since then, economic and state interests took precedence over public health concerns, and progress has only come through the relentless efforts of the social movements in the French Caribbean, dedicated researchers, and a few concerned politicians.
In 1963, early research on mice and hens confirmed the toxicity and reproductive risks of the chlordecone molecule. An industrial accident in 1975 at a production plant in Hopewell, Virginia, United States, resulted in widespread acute poisoning among employees. Initial investigations found neurotoxic effects, leading to the plant’s closure in 1976 and a complete ban on the product in the US. By 1979, scientific bodies identified the molecule as an “endocrine disruptor.” Extensive research since then has provided undeniable evidence of the product’s toxicity. Chlordecone can reach the brain, sperm, liver, and fetus through the transplacental passage of the molecule, with different impacts on each target. Despite this knowledge being widely circulated among experts, French state institutions, under pressure from interest groups, continued to permit the product’s use in Martinique and Guadeloupe, even after its ban in France in 1990. It wasn’t until September 1993 that authorities finally imposed a ban in the region.
In the early 2000s, mobilizations by various associations, elected officials, and whistleblowers surged, forcing the French government to address its constitutional duty of safeguarding public health. In response, measures were taken to investigate and address the widespread pollution in the French Caribbean. A 2013-2014 study revealed that over 90% of the region’s population was drenched in the substance. Disturbing findings emerged, highlighting the contamination of water and the food chain, the long-lasting presence of the highly toxic substance in the region’s soil, coastlines, and coastal waters.
Long struggle for justice
Parliamentary inquiries, including the Edmond-Mariette and Beaugendre reports in 2005, the Procaccia and Le Déaut report in 2009, and the Letchimy and Bénin report in 2019, shed light on the issue. Researchers raised alarms about the detrimental health effects of endocrine disruptors, with Professor Belpomme’s 2007 report and studies exploring the link between prostate cancer and chlordecone exposure initiated in 2010. Several publications, such as “Chronicle of a poisoning foretold” by Raphael Confiant and Louis Boutrin in 2007, and “A decolonial ecology: Thinking ecology from a Caribbean perspective” by Malcolm Ferdinand in 2019, also contributed to exposing the chlordecone scandal.
Legal complaints filed in 2006 and 2007 by URC, Assaupamar, and Mouvement Ecologie Urbaine (Urban Ecology Movement), as well as the emergence of influential social movements like Lyannaj’ Pou Dépolyé Matinik (LPDM) and the Association Martiniquaise de Sauvegarde de l’Environnement et de la Santé (Martinique Association for the Protection of the Environment and Health, AMSES), played a crucial role in characterizing and raising awareness about the health and environmental consequences of chlordecone on the Caribbean population. These efforts highlighted the seriousness of the public health crisis at hand.
Read: The pandemic response in Martinique and Guadeloupe: the looming shadow of colonialism
Over the years, mobilization and compensation demands have reached unprecedented levels. Successive government measures aimed at addressing major public health issues, such as chlordecone plans 1 (2008-2010), 2 (2011-2013), 3 (2014-2020), and the ongoing chlordecone plan 4 (2021-2027), have significantly raised awareness among the people of the French Caribbean. However, the response from the French government has fallen short of meeting the demands of many associations and citizens, who seek a sustainable and ambitious solution: “zero chlordecone,” meaning no exposure to this pollutant. Despite the global ban on the substance in 2011, a report in January 2018 on local TV channels highlighting modifications to Maximum Residue Limits triggered strong reactions and sparked intense social mobilizations.
The gravity of the health impact caused by chlordecone will only be fully understood in the future, but their devastating effects are already evident. Although scientific studies have consistently confirmed the health impact of chlordecone, since its introduction in the French Caribbean half a century ago, we have witnessed a perplexing denial and a lack of ambition in public policies. Decisions have prioritized the interests of banana growers over public health concerns. Additionally, concerning administrative irregularities have been observed, including the disappearance of archives relevant to this issue. These factors raise doubts about the genuine commitment of public authorities to fully investigate what is correctly described as a state scandal in Martinique and Guadeloupe.
Lyannaj Pou Depolye Matinik
Association Martiniquaise de Sauvegarde de l’Environnement et de la Santé
People’s Health Dispatch is a fortnightly bulletin published by the People’s Health Movement and Peoples Dispatch. For more articles and to subscribe to People’s Health Dispatch, click here.
