Water crisis in Guadeloupe: opening of a judicial investigation in Paris

A judicial investigation was opened in Paris in the case of the drinking water crisis in Guadeloupe, after the citizen appeal known as La Goutte d'eau, announced Thursday in a press release the association Notre Affaire à Tous, which published a report in June to denounce discrimination in access to water in Overseas Territories. Around 250 plaintiffs joined this action, alongside several associations, including Notre Affaire à Tous. In this case, several investigating judges have just been appointed within the public health unit of the Paris judicial court, with notices sent to victims so that they can become civil parties.

“The transfer of the file to the public health center near the Paris judicial court will make it possible to mobilize the necessary means of investigation that meet the challenges of this criminal case,” underlines Me Emmanuel Daoud, the collective’s lawyer, in the press release. “Our Affaire à Tous intends to become a civil party in the context of the judicial information,” one of the association’s lawyers, Me Claire Deniau, told Agence Radio France this Friday.

“A major breakthrough”

“This decision marks a major step forward for the inhabitants of Guadeloupe who have been mobilized for more than three years to obtain the truth about access to drinking water and its quality,” writes Notre Affaire à Tous. The La Goutte d'eau collective has been mobilizing for more than three years to "shed light on both water cuts and persistent pollution, particularly chlordecone, which affects the entire territory".

More than 250 plaintiffs joined this action, according to the association, alongside Kimbé Rèd FWI (French West Indies), the LDH (League of Human Rights/Human Rights) and Notre Affaire à Tous (NAAT): "Any person concerned by the water crisis in Guadeloupe can now become a civil party to have their status as a victim recognized, request reparation and compensation for their damages and participate in the search for truth and responsibilities,” the press release continued.

Since 2021, “more than 70 United Nations experts have alerted France around ten times about serious violations of the right to drinking water in Guadeloupe, calling for emergency measures, justice and reparations for the victims,” the press release specifies.