The power went out at 8:30 a.m. local time this Friday morning (2:30 p.m. in mainland France). But for several hours, the whole of Guadeloupe has been without electricity. EDF Archipel Guadeloupe, network manager subsidiary, speaks of a “widespread electrical incident”. “We don’t know how long the start-up will take,” specifies the manager.
The outage was caused by “striking employees” from the power plant which supplies almost the entire archipelago, denounced the prefect, who does not expect a return to normal before 3 p.m. “They entered the control room at 8:30 a.m. and caused the emergency shutdown of all the engines,” explains Xavier Lefort, protesting against an act which “seriously” endangers the population.
For several weeks, a social conflict has opposed the energy branch of the CGT and the management of EDF Island Electric Production. The conflict, which has lasted since September 15, concerns the application of a memorandum of understanding, signed at the end of a first strike in 2023.
At the time, the standoff, which had lasted more than two months, concerned in particular the tenure of temporary workers, but also the catching up of five years of salary arrears.
Last Monday, the management of EDF PEI proposed the signing of an agreement, which the CGT Guadeloupe energy federation refused, a final sticking point relating to the method of calculating paid leave.
Urban violence shook the island in September, forcing authorities to adopt a curfew for minors.
