Jacques Bino (died February 18, 2009) was a

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

an tax agent, activist and

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

official and representative. Bino was the first person killed during the violence associated with the 2009 French Caribbean general strikes. Bino was an active participant in the first month of the general strikes in Guadeloupe. However, Bino was shot and killed shortly after midnight on Wednesday, February 18, 2009, as he drove home from a protest. Bino approached a group of armed youths who were manning a makeshift barricade in the city of

Pointe-à-Pitre Pointe-à-Pitre (; , , or simply , ) is the second most populous commune of Guadeloupe (after Les Abymes). Guadeloupe is an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in the Lesser Antilles, of which it is a ''Subprefectu ...

. The crowd opened fire on Bino's car. Bino's car was hit three times by 12-gauge Brenneke-style

shotgun slug A shotgun slug is a heavy projectile (a slug) made of lead, copper, or other material and fired from a shotgun. Slugs are designed for hunting large game, and other uses, particularly in areas near human population where their short range and slo ...

s. One of the shotgun blasts came through the front

windshield The windshield (American English and Canadian English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from t ...

of the car, striking Bino in the chest and killing him. There were no police in the area when Bino was killed. Jean-Michel Pretre, a local Guadeloupean

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

, has speculated that the youths, who were operating independently from the official strikes, may have mistaken Bino for a plainclothes police officer when they opened fire. Point-à-Pitre Mayor Jacques Bangou noted following Bino's death that, "For the past 48 hours the streets have been in the hands of groups of young people, completely out of control." Bino's murder may have marked a turning point in the general strikes, with both the French government and the LKP union groups beginning to take serious notice of the conflict. Bino's funeral was held on Sunday, February 22, 2009. His funeral was attended by former

French Socialist The French Left () refers to Communism, communist, Socialism, socialist, Social democracy, social democratic, Democratic socialism, democratic socialist, and Anarchism, anarchist political forces in France. The term originates from the Nationa ...

presidential candidate

Ségolène Royal Ségolène Royal (; born Marie-Ségolène Royal; 22 September 1953) is a French politician who took part in the 2007 French presidential election, losing to Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round. She was the first woman in France's history to r ...

, who arrived on Saturday to attend his memorial service. Royal used the solemn occasion to criticize the government of French President

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

saying the government had "abandoned" Guadeloupe and urging it to find “solutions” to the crisis." Jacques Bino was 50 years old at the time of his murder. He was survived by his wife, Marie-Antoinette Bino, who lives in Pointe-à-Pitre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bino, Jacques 2009 deaths Guadeloupean trade unionists French trade unionists Guadeloupean murder victims People murdered in Guadeloupe Deaths by firearm in Guadeloupe Year of birth missing 2009 murders in North America