TERRIFIED British tourists are being evacuated from the tropical holiday hotspot of New Caledonia as the territory is rocked by a wave of deadly violence.
Nine days of rioting left six people dead and hundreds injured, with cars, shops and buildings set on fire and destroyed.
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The United Kingdom has joined Australia and New Zealand in efforts to rescue their citizens from Haiti-style bloodshed on French soil.
French President Emmanuel Macron flies to the Pacific territory today – in the wake of French police who arrived on the islands last week – as rebels continue to burn cars and loot stores.
Images showed burnt-out vehicles piled on top of each other to form roadblocks that were said to be restricting tourists and locals’ access to medicine and food.
The unrest is the deadliest seen in the French Pacific territory in four decades.
Six people died in the protests, which began nine days ago after Paris approved changes that would give voting rights to thousands of non-indigenous residents.
Local leaders among the territory’s indigenous Kanak people are said to fear that constitutional reform will dilute the Kanak vote.
Macron will meet tomorrow with elected officials and local representatives for a day of talks related to politics and the reconstruction of the islands, aides said.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said Macron “will discuss with all forces in New Caledonia”, adding that the aim of the talks is “to prepare and anticipate reconstruction”.
He said: “The president will also go there to reestablish dialogue.”
A family who have lived in New Caledonia for almost a year, with their children enrolled in school, are preparing to escape the turbulence, filling their boat with supplies and sailing 770 nautical miles to Australia.
Xavier Decramer, father of three children, of French nationality, said The Guardian: “It is clearly with a heavy heart that we are leaving this place.
“Considering that my wife was born here, we wanted to settle here.
“It’s hard. We’re really torn between the need to get our family to safety… and the feeling that we’re leaving people behind here — people who can’t leave.”
Nouméa’s international airport is closed to commercial flights, but some governments – including those of Australia and New Zealand – have launched repatriation flights to remove their citizens from the islands.
Schools were also closed and businesses were burned, and supplies for people and hospitals began to run low.
Around 3,200 tourists are estimated to be stranded in the territory – along with around 270,000 residents.
Violent conflicts are making it increasingly difficult for everyone to buy supplies and seek medical help.
The New Caledonian government explained: “The problem is not so much a lack of staff, medical and food supplies, but, more importantly, access.”
British citizens are being supported by the UK government, which is working with France, Australia and New Zealand in a coordinated response, The Sun has learned.
A small number of Britons yesterday joined flights organized by New Zealand and Australia to leave the territory.
Brits staying in New Caledonia have been advised by the UK government to register their presence and follow travel advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more updates.
The decision comes after Paris last week declared a state of emergency on the islands and sent 1,000 soldiers to support New Caledonian security forces, who appeared to have lost control in Nouméa.
Why are there riots in New Caledonia?
By Rebecca Husselbee
Deadly riots in the French colony of New Caledonia were sparked after lawmakers in Paris approved a constitutional change to allow newcomers to the territory to vote in elections.
Local leaders fear the changes will dilute the vote of the indigenous Kanak people, who make up 40% of the island paradise’s population.
In 1998, it was agreed that voting would be restricted to indigenous Kanaks and migrants who had lived there before 1998, but riots broke out after Paris decided to open elections to those who had lived there for at least ten years.
The change is the latest flashpoint in a decades-long battle for French control of the territory since 1942, after Macron announced plans to increase French influence in the Pacific.
New Caledonia is the world’s third largest producer of nickel and is located in a place where the US and China are currently fighting for power.
After the nickel boom attracted many foreigners to the island, tensions rose with conflicts between the Paris and Kanak independence movements.
Two Royal Australian Air Force planes flew 108 Australians and other tourists from New Caledonia to Brisbane on Tuesday night, while the New Zealand military flew 48 people to Auckland.
France said it expects to evacuate around 500 people on military aircraft from today.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the development of the situation as “deeply worrying”.
Dominique Fochi, secretary general of the main independence movement in the territory, called for calm on the islands, but said the French government must suspend constitutional reform.
He told Reuters: “We need strong action to calm the situation, the government needs to stop putting oil In the fire.”
The presidents of four other French overseas territories called for the reform to be withdrawn, writing in an open letter: “Only a political response can stop the growing violence and prevent civil war.”
Viro Xulue, a member of a community group currently helping the Kanak people, said the current unrest is similar to the civil war of the 1980s.
He said: “We are really scared by the policethe French soldiers, and we are scared by the anti-Kanak militia terrorist group.
“The French government doesn’t know how to control people here.
“They send more than 2,000 soldiers to control, but it is a fail.”
Three of the six people killed during the protests were young Kanaks shot by armed civilians.
The deadly conflict now unfolding is between Kanak activists, armed self-defense groups and civilian militias, according to the French High Commission.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
