Children were sitting near the decorations in Schoelcher Square when the car came through. It was a Friday evening, 5 December 2025, and Sainte-Anne in Guadeloupe had just switched on its Christmas lights. By the end of the night 19 people were injured.
Families had gathered opposite the town hall and the church, many of the children on a school outing. Witnesses described screaming, and adults pulling children out of the way. Decorations were smashed and gifts left lying on the ground. Le Parisien reports that part of the crowd had been queuing for doughnuts at a food truck after the lights ceremony.
Le Parisien counted six minors among the injured, while IBTimes UK, citing local reporting, put the number of children at seven. Both agreed on the main point: nobody was in a life-threatening condition, and nobody died.
The driver
Bystanders blocked the driver’s attempt to get away, and police arrested him at the scene. He was 45, according to Le Parisien. Radio Caraibes Internationale reported that his blood held 1.5 g of alcohol per litre, three times the French limit by Le Parisien’s reckoning, and that a cannabis test was positive.
His custody was extended by 24 hours on Saturday afternoon. The Pointe-a-Pitre prosecutor’s office told RCI it would bring a case for road injuries with two aggravating circumstances, alcohol and drugs. Guadeloupe la 1e reported that he would probably appear before a judge in an immediate hearing with the decision deferred. Authorities have stressed it was an accident, with no sign of a deliberate attack.
A rumour that outran the facts
Online, the story ran away from the truth. Accounts on X said ten people had been killed. A message from Tommy Robinson was seen by 35 million people, according to Le Parisien, and Elon Musk then reposted it with the single word “encore”. No one died in Sainte-Anne.
The mayor set up a crisis unit for the affected families. In the days after, residents came back to Schoelcher Square and left candles and decorations there.
Sources
- Festive Lights Event Ends in Bloodshed as Car Mows Down Families in Sainte-Anne
- Guadeloupe : apres l'accident qui a fait 19 blesses, Elon Musk partage une fausse information sur les reseaux sociaux
