Two commemorative statues of Victor Schoelcher which enabled the signing of the decree abolishing slavery and the slave trade in the colonies in 1848, were destroyed in Martinique on May 22, the day the island commemorated its abolition of slavery.
They were allegedly smashed by demonstrators in Fort-de-France and at the entrance to the town of Schoelcher.
The mayor of Fort-de-France, Didier Laguerre condemned this act of vandalism while ensuring that " dropping a statue will not erase the history of our people, nor the humanism of Victor Schoelcher and his relentless fight for freedom and human rights ”.