ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the 2009 movements in Martinique and Guadeloupe were successful in framing the local economies as being dominated by profiteers. It focuses how various actors representing the interests of business groups in Martinique tried to challenge the frame and the general image of business. In 2009 the strong social movement that gained prominence in Martinique and Guadeloupe, revealed to the rest of France the extent of the economic and social inequalities that were rife in the islands. The crisis was precipitated by several factors: the very high unemployment rate; rising inflation; and the structurally high prices in these heavily dependent economies. The chapter also focuses at the trajectories of several small business owners, it is possible to start to assess the specificity of a post-colonial economy. It clears that there is little consensus or indeed sustained commitment to correct the underlying issues that are still clearly visible in the French Antillean economy.
