NBBC residents respond to the "préfet"
The president of the Nettle Bay Beach Club residents' association sent an open letter in response to the press release issued by the préfet.
"166 Nettle Bay Road is the Nettle Bay Beach Club residence. More than 100 units (out of 148) are currently occupied by vacationers, mostly Canadians and Americans.
These tourists, who choose Saint Martin as their destination, actively participate in the island's economic life. They frequent restaurants and shops on a daily basis, thereby contributing significantly to local prosperity.
How can we ask our vacationers to restrict their evening outings or to stop going to restaurants after dark, when Saint Martin is renowned for its fine dining and they have come to enjoy their stay in complete freedom?
How can we ask our residents, who sometimes work late into the evening, to extend their commute by taking a detour through the Dutch side? Such a restriction of freedom would not only be unacceptable, but also detrimental to the image of our island and its tourist appeal.
Public safety is a fundamental right and one of the conditions for the exercise of individual and collective freedoms.
The state has a duty to ensure safety, and in Saint Martin, safety is the cornerstone of tourism, without which the local economy would collapse.
The announcement of the reintroduction of special measures at the entrances and exits of Sandy Ground, which have already shown their limitations with serious tensions in Sandy Ground and which are certainly insufficient since people are asked to go around via the Dutch side (thus effectively creating a lawless zone), must be accompanied by a police presence in the area of 166 Rue de la Baie Nettlé, from the Lagune residence to the Hommage hotel.
These security measures are urgent, necessary, and must, this time, be sustained over time, but they are also late, with tourists leaving early to finish their vacations in the Dutch part of the island or leaving the island altogether.
More than ever, there is a pressing need to open a gendarmerie station on Baie Nettlé, something we have been calling for for several years.
