Riots in New Caledonia: Road blockades cleared, schools still closed
Published: Sunday, May 19th 2024, 13:50
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After days of serious unrest in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia, the situation appears to be easing slightly. Several hundred police officers cleared the road from the capital Nouméa to the international airport of the island group in the South Pacific on Sunday, as France's Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced on X. Independence supporters had set up more than 70 roadblocks there in the past few days, for example with burnt-out car wrecks. Several grocery stores were also able to reopen, according to Darmanin. However, the road is currently not normally passable and it could be some time before the airport reopens. Schools will remain closed until next Friday.
Republican order will be restored, "whatever the cost", said French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc at a press conference. "I would like to say to the rioters: stop, return to calm, hand in your weapons." The previous night had already been calmer.
Six people have been killed so far in the riots on the island 1500 kilometers east of Australia and over 200 people have been arrested. The background to the protests by supporters of independence for the archipelago is a planned constitutional reform by the government in Paris. This is intended to give thousands of citizens of French descent the right to vote and therefore more political influence. However, the Kanak population group in particular - New Caledonia's indigenous inhabitants - have long hoped for their own state. The national council of the Kanaks accused Paris of pushing ahead with the controversial reform without taking into account the resistance of the vast majority of the indigenous population.
The former French colony had already gained extensive autonomy through the Nouméa Agreement in 1998. Paris is currently trying to conclude a new agreement with the political forces in the geopolitically and militarily significant territory.
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