00:00Hundreds of passengers have been stranded in the French Caribbean island of Martinique
00:06after its airport was forced to close because protesters overran the tarmac.
00:11The overnight shutdown delayed flights and airport officials urged stranded passengers
00:16to contact their airlines for information after the facility resumed operations by mid-morning.
00:22Three planes carrying around 1,000 passengers had to be diverted to the nearby island of
00:27Guadeloupe.
00:28France's Interior Minister Bruno Rattailleau said French authorities had regained control
00:33of the airport, which demonstrators targeted in the latest protest against the rising cost
00:37of living.
00:38Since Monday night, Martinique has been gripped by bouts of protests that have often turned
00:43violent.
00:45The latest round of violence prompted the government to announce another curfew as it
00:48stressed that demonstrations on public roads were prohibited.
00:52It's the latest in a string of protests that began in early September, prompting France
00:57to send special anti-riot police to the island, which has banned demonstrations in certain
01:01areas.
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