In Fort-de-France, Martinique, on January 24, "Le R", the activist who spearheaded protests on the French-ruled island, was released from prison with a one-year suspended sentence for trespassing on state property during cost-of-living demonstrations.
Known as "Le R," Petitot led demonstrations on the Caribbean island where poverty rates are double compared to France, and the cost of living is notably higher.
According to the judges, Petitot pressured the police into allowing him into the governor's residence during a meeting with France's overseas territories minister, exceeding the bounds of freedom of expression. He was also convicted of intimidation and verbal assault.
Petitot, now under house arrest, commented to Reuters, "As long as the people think I'm innocent, I don't need the justice to tell me that I am." He criticized the judiciary for siding "in favor of those who have always oppressed the people."
At the tribunal in Fort-de-France, supporters and his family celebrated his release as a triumph.
His lawyer, Eddy Arneton, deemed the ruling "favorable," pointing out that Petitot could have faced a 20-year sentence.
The recent unrest in French territories, like Martinique, included a dispute over the voting rights of the indigenous Kanak people in an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean.
In 1635, France colonized Martinique, which along with Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and La Reunion, was designated as an administrative "department" in 1946 to ensure equality for overseas territories.
The French lower house passed a law aimed at addressing high living costs in Martinique and other overseas territories by requiring companies to disclose financial information and preventing monopolies from controlling more than 25% of the market.
Some lawmakers credited Petitot's movement for enabling the legislation.
Overseas Minister Manuel Valls stressed the need for "transparency, justice, equality, truth" to prevail due to a deep-seated sense of injustice.
Specialists note that a few families descended from former slave plantation owners wield significant economic control in Martinique, contributing to high prices by inflating their profit margins.