GUADELOUPE (20 Feb 2009) — Tourists have been told to stay in their hotels on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe after marauding protesters blocked roads to the airport. Thousands of worried holidaymakers are trying to flee the tropical island, which is in the grip of escalating violence over the soaring cost of living. Police on Guadeloupe said they had been escorting coaches of tourists to the island's main airport, using armoured vehicles to smash through roadblocks. But they advised others still in at their hotels to remain within their resort and not venture into towns where street demonstrations have escalated into full-scale pitched battles with riot police. A Guadeloupe police spokesman said: "It is very frightening for them. They came here for a holiday and not step into a war zone. "There is extra security at all hotels and we have assured tourists they will be safe there until we can escort safely to the airport. "The protesters have nothing against them – tourism is the lifeblood of the island's economy." Guadeloupe tourism official Jeanette Mourier said: "We have mainly British, French and American tourists here. Future bookings have also dropped off. This violence is doing nothing for our economy." The protests which erupted on January 20 have now shifted away from a call for higher wages to demands to an end to domination of the economy by rich white families who are descendants of the colonial landlords. | Guadeloupe riots: Radical elements among the protesters are now targeting 'all white people'. The troubles come at the height of the holiday season, with thousands of mainly British, French and American tourists on the palm-fringed island. Radical elements among the protesters were now targeting 'all white people', with the media in mainland France describing the situation as virtual civil war'. Guadeloupe is a French overseas department – and part of the European Union – ruled directly from Paris. President Nicolas Sarkozy has pledged £500 million in economic aid to France's Caribbean territories in an effort to quell the protests. | 
