PARIS (AP):

French President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered the Government last Friday to review its policy toward overseas territories amid escalating unrest in the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.

The statement from Sarkozy's office was his first public reaction to strikes and protests that have been simmering since last month on the islands which belong to France and are considered part of the country. Riot police from the mainland landed in Martinique last Thursday to keep the peace.

Sarkozy last Friday ordered the creation of a government body to review policy toward its overseas territories, which stretch from the South Pacific to South America to islands off Canada's northeast coast.

He called for a better "distribution of riches" to fix the what he called the social sickness that has stricken Guadeloupe and Martinique.

The French islands have a high cost of living and use the euro. Many islanders feel their salaries are not keeping up with rising prices for food and other goods. Protesters are demanding a monthly increase of nearly US$580 each for minimum-wage workers and a reduction in water and power bills.

Sarkozy appeared cool to the idea of raising salaries. "We should beware of false good ideas for a short-term end to the conflict," he said.

Detained for looting

Some people have been detained for looting and stealing gasolene. Garbage is piling up. A strike kept supermarkets closed and some schools shuttered, and the turmoil has led about 10,000 tourists to cancel vacations in Martinique and Guadeloupe.

Sarkozy stressed that the Government was not ignoring the islanders' problems.

The islands' populations "have the sentiment that they are not always heard. We should continue to fight, every day, so that the country makes a larger place for those who represent the diversity of France."

"Guadeloupe and Martinique are part of France" and should enjoy the same equalities as in the mainland, he said.

He asked all the government ministers to come up with long-term measures for stimulating and modernising the economy of the islands, including by opening it up to more competition.

"I want you to strongly mobilise on this subject," he said.