Noumea:
President Emmanuel Macron landed in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia on Thursday, vowing to restore calm “as quickly as possible” following separatist unrest that left six people dead and hundreds injured.
Macron arrived in the capital Nouméa to meet political and business leaders on a high-risk mission to end more than a week of looting, arson and deadly clashes that have swept the popular holiday destination.
After getting off the plane at Tontouta International Airport, the French leader said that his objective is that “as quickly as possible there is a return to peace, calm, security”.
“This is the absolute priority,” Macron said.
French authorities sent around 3,000 soldiers, police and other security reinforcements to contain the turmoil, which left the islands littered with charred cars and the remains of burned-out schools, shops and businesses.
Police have detained 269 people since the unrest began on May 13, officials said.
Macron held a minute of silence for the six dead, which included two police officers, and promised that security forces would remain “as long as necessary”.
The high commissioner representing France, Louis Le Franc, said the previous night was calm.
“There was no additional damage, but many things were destroyed,” he told AFP.
There have long been tensions between the Paris government and pro-independence voices among the indigenous Kanaks, who make up about 40% of the population.
Kanak Locks
The deadliest unrest in the archipelago in four decades has been triggered by French plans to grant voting rights to thousands of non-indigenous residents, something the Kanaks say would dilute the influence of their own votes.
AFP correspondents said Kanaks were still blocking reinforced roads on the day of Macron’s visit, flying pro-independence flags and displaying banners protesting electoral reform.
After flying 17,000 kilometers (10,500 miles) from mainland France, Macron was expected to spend around 12 hours on the ground.
He last visited New Caledonia in July 2023, on a trip that was boycotted by Kanak representatives.
The pro-independence FLNKS party said roadblocks would be reinforced and “welcoming committees” would be created to greet the president, supported by the activist group CCAT which organized protests against electoral reform.
CCAT said it would block main routes leading to the north of the island all day on Thursday.
“I don’t know why our fate is being discussed by people who don’t even live here,” said Mike, a 52-year-old Kanak, at a roadblock north of the capital on the eve of Macron’s arrival.
Armed residents, of French and other origins, set up their own barricades in the neighborhoods.
France last week imposed a state of emergency that led to the house arrest of Kanak militants, a nighttime curfew and a ban on TikTok, meetings, the sale of alcohol and the possession of weapons.
The 12-day crisis measure will not be extended if all parties call for an end to lockdowns, Macron said as he announced plans for a task force to deal with the situation.
Arrested tourists
Trapped tourists began to flee the turmoil.
Australia said 187 people had been returned to the country. New Zealand has also repatriated many tourists through Noumea Magenta domestic airport.
Further tourist evacuation flights will be organized when the international airport reopens to commercial flights, which the operator expects to happen on Saturday.
New Caledonia has rejected independence in referendums on three occasions. The last such vote took place during the Covid-19 pandemic and was boycotted by the Kanaks, who are fiercely opposed to French rule.
The plan to give the vote to those who have lived in the territory for at least 10 years has exacerbated Kanak’s resentment, but is widely supported by pro-French representatives.
Macron ruled out going back on the results of the referendums, saying that peace could not happen at the cost of ignoring the will of the people or “in some way denying the path that has already been taken”.
One option open to Macron would be to postpone the voting rights bill, which has been approved by the lower house but still needs to be ratified by a congress of both chambers of the French parliament.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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