The French government deployed the special anti-riot police, the Republican Security Companies (CRS), to Martinique on Sept. 22 in response to ongoing protests over the rising cost of living on the French-ruled Caribbean island. The deployment marks the first time CRS units have been sent to Martinique since they were banned from the territory in December 1959, following violent protests in departmental capital Fort-de-France that drew widespread criticism over heavy-handed police intervention. The CRS 8 unit, established in July 2021, is designed for "urban violence and high-intensity law enforcement operations," according to the French Ministry of the Interior.