2 killed in New Caledonia as riots escalate after Paris vote
Recent unrest in New Caledonia has claimed at least two lives and left hundreds injured as protests intensify following the French parliament’s decision to grant more voting rights to French residents there.
Violence erupted on Monday night, with reports of cars being set on fire, buildings torched, and police stations attacked. It’s the most significant turmoil the Pacific territory has witnessed since the 1980s.
Situated between Australia and Fiji, New Caledonia has been under French jurisdiction since the 19th century. Tensions flared after the French parliament voted 351 to 153 in favour of allowing French citizens who have resided in New Caledonia for a minimum of 10 years to vote in provincial elections, a move proponents argue is democratic.
However, many locals, particularly the indigenous Kanak people, see the change as marginalising their voices and diminishing their electoral influence.
The capital city of Nouméa experienced intense protests on Monday night, including reported exchanges of fire between rioters and civil defence groups. Subsequently, French authorities imposed a nighttime curfew and prohibited public gatherings on Tuesday.
Despite these measures, the unrest persisted, with reports of an attempted prison break-out, as confirmed by France’s High Commission of the Republic in New Caledonia on Wednesday.
“This needs to stop now. We already have one person dead, but if we don’t stop now, it will be carnage. I fear for New Caledonia, dark hours lie ahead,” said the high commissioner Louis Le Franc earlier on Wednesday.
Following the vote, France’s President Emmanuel Macron had issued a letter to New Caledonian representatives calling for them to condemn the violence and to call for calm.
New Caledonia has a population of about 300,000 people, of which the indigenous Kanak people make up about 40%.
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Under the 1998 Nouméa Accord, France agreed to give the territory more political autonomy and to limit voting in provincial and assembly elections to only those who were residents then.
More than 40,000 French citizens have moved to New Caledonia since then.
The accord allowed for three referendums on the country’s future. Independence was rejected in all instances.