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Empresas y finanzas

Three police hit by shots in French island clash


    POINTE-A-PITRE, France (Reuters) - Three police officers were slightly wounded by shots fired by protesters on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe overnight in escalating demonstrations over the cost of living, officials said Wednesday.

    Guadeloupe, a French overseas region that is a part of the European Union, has been brought to a standstill for the past month by a general strike over high prices for food and other necessities.

    The shootings occurred in the island's largest town Pointe-a-Pitre.

    Hooded groups of youths clashed with police, torched a tyre store and ransacked shops, said the officials.

    The demonstrations, coordinated by an alliance of about 50 unions and associations known as "Liyannaj Kont Pwofitasyon" (LKP), or "Stand Up Against Exploitation" in the local dialect, had started out peacefully.

    But in the past three days, protesters have set up road blocks in different parts of the island and police have made dozens of arrests.

    (Reporting by Colette Borda, writing by James Mackenzie)