France announced on Sunday the establishment of special flights to allow its “most vulnerable” nationals to leave Haiti while commercial air links with Port-au-Prince are interrupted. Some 1,100 French people, including a large number of dual nationals, live in Haiti, according to figures from the Quai d’Orsay.
France set up special flights on Sunday to allow its “most vulnerable” nationals to leave Haiti, whose capital is plagued by gang violence. These flights, chartered by the Ministry of the Armed Forces, are due to begin this Sunday, said the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while commercial air links with Port-au-Prince are interrupted. “The French embassy in Port-au-Prince remains open and continues its activity despite the degraded conditions,” the ministry also specified in a statement sent to AFP. “It remains fully mobilized in support of the French community on site,” he adds.
1,100 French people live in Haiti
Some 1,100 French people, including a large number of dual nationals, live in Haiti, according to figures from the Quai d’Orsay. Nationals “are invited to report to the French embassy in Port-au-Prince at +509 29 99 90 90 if they have not already done so”, indicates the ministry which did not yet have a Sunday estimate of the number of people potentially affected. Haiti, already the victim of a very serious political and security crisis, has been plagued by renewed violence since the beginning of March, when several gangs joined forces to attack strategic locations in Port-au-Prince, saying they wanted to overthrow the Prime Minister. Minister Ariel Henry.
The latter agreed to resign on March 11 and since then negotiations have been underway with a view to forming transitional authorities. In the meantime, armed gangs are intensifying their attacks in the capital, of which they already control some 80%.