On Monday, 19 October, the Mauritian prime minister’s office said the overnight curfew would not be extended. The last window ended at 4:30 a.m. local time. The British government’s travel advice gives the same hours: evenings from 12 to 18 October, ending Monday at 4:30. This is not the lifting of every public-order measure. Police and the Special Mobile Force remain deployed, Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam said in the evening.

The Port Louis statement speaks of a “favourable evolution” and thanks the public for staying calm. That is their assessment. Ramgoolam addressed the nation after a weekend which, in his words, passed without a major incident. He asked for responsibility. It is not a court tally and not the end of the inquiries.

The protests began last week over water shortages and rising prices. The violence worsened after a police officer shot a woman, wounding her seriously in the neck. The exact date of the shooting differs between accounts; we do not fix it. The officer has been arrested and brought to court, the authorities say. Arrest is not conviction. The woman, Elodie Thomas, is in a stable condition at Jeetoo hospital, the prime minister said. We do not name the officer.

AFP, carried by Al Jazeera, writes that at least 188 people were detained on charges including looting, arson, damage to police stations and possession of explosives. Those are charges, not verdicts. Ramgoolam said identification continues, within the law. That is an investigative intention, not a closed file.

The drought and the water remain. The prime minister said the demands had been heard and that the government is working on distribution; he did not announce that the shortage is over. Urgent talks with NGOs, from this week, are also on his list. That is an announcement, not a statute.

Monday’s closed fact is that the curfew is not renewed. The deployments, the cases, the water: still open.

Image: Government House, Port Louis, 9 September 2015, Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The residence, not last week’s protests.

Sources consulted: Mauritius lifts curfew imposed amid wave of violent protests — Al Jazeera; Bureau du Premier ministre : Le couvre-feu ne sera pas reconduit à partir de ce soir — L'express; Message à la nation : Navin Ramgoolam annonce des consultations urgentes — Defi Media.