Right of Reply from the CTM by Fernand ODONNAT, Chair of the Committee on Land Use Planning, Major Public Works, Transportation, Infrastructure, and Major Risks of the Territorial Collectivity of Martinique.
This Right of Reply follows the interview in Antilla by Jean-Yves Bonnaire, and at the January 20 Issue of *Contact-Entreprises* addressed to the president of the CTM following the New Year's Greetings from President Letchimy.
Mr. Bonnaire, a necessary clarification
Your recent statements published in the Antilla article (Editor's note: and in the letter from Contact-Entreprises to the president of the CTM) require an unequivocal response, as they distort a reality that the people of Martinique know all too well. Your remarks, which seek to downplay the structural issues of our economy reflect not only a glaring disconnect but also a complicit stance toward a system that stifles local consumers and producers.
On Monopolies and Oligopolies
Contrary to what you claim, it has been established—including by the’Competition Authority, that the retail sector in the French overseas departments and regions (DROM), and particularly in Martinique, is highly concentrate. Practices of domination in strategic sectors such as mass retail, import-export, and the automotive industry are well documented. This integration vertical distorts competition and stifles small local businesses.
A 40 % price gap on food products The disparity between mainland France and Martinique is not a myth, but an objective finding based on rigorous studies. To ignore these facts is to turn a blind eye to a situation that leaves producers and consumers at the mercy of excessive profit margins and monopolistic practices.
To deny this reality is tantamount to to be an accomplice systemic inequalities and economic pressures that deprive the people of Martinique of viable solutions for purchasing power and economic development.
The massive popular movement that is shaking our country is proof of this reality, which you pretend not to see.
On POSEI and Local Agriculture
Your remarks regarding the POSEI funds reveal a biased and one-sided perspective. If agricultural diversification is a priority, why ignore the glaring imbalance in the allocation of funding? Currently, more than 85 % of the funds are allocated to the banana industry, leaving small local farms in a status chronic underfunding.
In Martinique, 70 % of farms are less than 5 hectares in size. These are the farms that are driving agroecological initiatives, contributing to local food security, and embodying the future of Martinique’s agriculture. Yet they are systematically ignored by current public policies—a fact that you are deliberately omitting.
The POSEI reform proposed by the CTM is a crucial step toward meeting the real needs of these farms:
- Locally-driven allocation of funds to better align with Martinique’s priorities.
- The inclusion of all types of producer organizations, including local markets.
Your resistance to these changes shows a defense of the status quo, which benefits a few but is detrimental to the majority of local economic actors.
On Purchasing Power and Proposed Solutions
Your suggestions regarding the CTM’s role in managing public transportation or European subsidies are a smokescreen. The real question is why you refuse to address unfair practices by dominant groups that are directly contributing to the economic crisis. The people of Martinique are no longer interested in empty rhetoric about «constructive dialogue» as long as the Responsibilities of Adults economic actors are not recognized. The cost of living can only be reduced by breaking the monopolistic practices which are keeping the island in a state of economic suffocation.
A Call for Responsibility
Mr. Bonnaire, your statements and your stance in this debate go beyond mere clumsiness. By systematically supporting the interests of large corporations that concentrate wealth and power, you are positioning yourself as a active accomplice to a unequal system. You play the role of the «House Slave», a zealous defender of the powerful, at the expense of the interests of the people of Martinique.
Rather than betraying those whom this system crushes, it is time for you to take responsibility—not toward the monopolies, but toward small businesses, local farmers, consumers, and all those who are waiting for concrete action toward a more just future.
Your choices and your words carry a lot of weight: if you continue to defend the unacceptable, you will be seen as the a symbol of a betrayal toward the economic and social emancipation of Martinique. The people of Martinique are not fooled. History will be the judge.
Mr. Fernand ODONNAT,
Chair of the Committee on Land Use Planning, Major Public Works, Transportation, Infrastructure, and Major Risks
