France declares a state of emergency in New Caledonia, 500 police sent to quash deadly riots
Extra police were sent to Noumea from France after protests turned to violent riots. (ABC News: Nicholas Job)
France has declared a state of emergency on the Pacific island of New Caledonia, after four people including a police officer were killed in riots over voting reform on the French-ruled territory.
The move came as the French government confirmed an additional 500 members of the French national police and Gendarmerie were being sent there to try and quell the violence.
The state of emergency will last 12 days and give authorities additional powers to ban gatherings and forbid people from moving around.
The last time France imposed such measures on one of its overseas territories was in 1985, also in New Caledonia, the Interior Ministry said.
Rioters torched vehicles and businesses and looted stores, prompting extra police to be sent from France to support the 1,800 already there.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said the territory had been "hit by violence of a rare intensity".
"No violence will be tolerated," he said, adding that the state of emergency "will allow us to roll out massive means to restore order".
He told the French parliament in Paris that the state of emergency would aim "to restore order in the shortest time possible".
Authorities have also banned video app TikTok, which the government has previously said helped rioters organise and escalate unrest.
TikTok could not immediately be reached for comment.
Schools have been shut and there is already a curfew in the capital Noumea between 6pm and 6am.
The La Tontouta International Airport remains closed, and flights have been cancelled until at least Friday May 17.
Earlier on Wednesday local time, a spokesman for New Caledonia's President Louis Mapou said that three young indigenous Kanak had died in the riots.
The French government later announced that a police official had died from a gunshot wound.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin took to Twitter, formerly X, to announce the death and express his condolences to the 24-year-old's family.
"He took off his helmet (to speak to residents) and he was shot right in the head," Mr Darmanin said later on Wednesday.
More than 140 people have been arrested and more than 300 have been injured since Monday.
Masked rioters were seen roaming the streets on Wednesday local time with weapons including golf clubs and rocks, as they set up makeshift roadblocks.
Locals reported police being outnumbered by protesters, with cars and buildings burning across Noumea.
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What are the protests about?
Rioting broke out over a new bill, adopted by lawmakers in Paris on Tuesday, that will allow French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years to vote in provincial elections — a move some local leaders fear will dilute the Kanak vote.
Electoral reform is the latest flashpoint in a decades-long tussle over France's role in the mineral-rich island, which lies in the southwest Pacific, between Australia and Fiji.
France annexed the island in 1853 and gave the colony the status of overseas territory in 1946.
It has long been rocked by pro-independence movements.
A 1998 Noumea Accord helped end the conflict by outlining a path to gradual autonomy and restricting voting to the Indigenous Kanak and migrants living in New Caledonia before 1998.
Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai and current chair of the Melanesian Spearhead Group issued a statement yesterday to express support for FLNKS, a pro-independence alliance of political parties in New Caledonia.
"There's an urgent need now for France to agree to the proposal by the FLNKS to establish a dialogue and mediation mission to be led by a mutually agreed high personality, to discuss a way forward so that normalcy can be restored quickly and an enduring peace can prevail," the statement wrote.
He added that "these events could have been avoided if the French Government had listened".
"There is a need for the French Government to return to the spirit of the Noumea Accord in its dealings relating to New Caledonia.
"That spirit ensured respect and cooperation between all parties and ensured peace in New Caledonia."
The latest unrest prompted calls for calm from French President Emmanuel Macron and New Caledonia's President Louis Mapou.
Mr Macron offered to hold meetings with pro and anti-independence parties before the bill was officially brought into force — an offer accepted by the major pro-independence political group, Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS).
The French government has said the change in voting rules was needed so elections would be democratic.
Looting rampant at night
New Caledonia is the world's third-largest nickel miner and residents have been hit by a crisis in the sector, with one in five living under the poverty threshold.
30-year-old Henri, who works in a hotel in Noumea, said "politicians have a huge share of responsibility".
"Loyalist politicians, who are descendants of colonialists, say colonisation is over, but Kanak politicians don't agree. There are huge economic disparities," he said.
Henri, who declined to give his full name, said there was significant looting amid the riots, with the situation most dangerous at night.
Most residents were staying indoors.
Another witness told Reuters breastfeeding mothers were organising to share milk with mothers who have none left to feed their babies.
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