France to send police special forces to violence-hit Guadeloupe

FILE PHOTO: French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, wearing a protective face mask, attends the questions to the government session before a final vote on controversial climate change bill at the National Assembly in Paris, France, May 4, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

PARIS (Reuters) -France is sending police special forces to restore order in the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe hit by rioting and looting amid protests against COVID-19 protocols, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Saturday.

"The first message is that the state will stand firm," Darmanin told reporters after holding a crisis meeting on the situation in the Caribbean archipelago with Overseas Territory Minister Sebastien Lecornu.