France has declared a state of emergency in New Caledonia and has sent police and military reinforcements to quell ongoing unrest sparked by proposed changes to provincial election rules.
Violence erupted on Monday night and has persisted despite an overnight curfew, resulting in the deaths of three Indigenous Kanak people and a police officer, with hundreds injured.
The state of emergency, effective from 5 a.m. local time (1800 GMT Wednesday), grants authorities extensive powers of search and arrest.
The office of the high commissioner, which represents the French state in New Caledonia, said in a statement that five people had been placed under house arrest as “alleged sponsors of the violent disturbances” and that more searches would take place “in the coming hours”.
More than “two hundred people have been arrested, and 64 gendarmes and police injured, while road barricades put up by the protesters were causing a “dire situation” for medicine and food for the population, he added.
In response to the unrest, 500 additional officers have been deployed alongside the usual 1,800 presence on the island.
Rioters have burned vehicles and businesses, looted stores, and set up roadblocks, severely disrupting the flow of essential supplies.
Residents have described scenes of looting and destruction, with some resorting to arming themselves and installing surveillance around their properties for protection.
Confrontations have occurred between rioters and self-defense groups, further complicating the situation.
The violence stems from proposed electoral reforms that would allow long-term French residents in New Caledonia to vote in provincial elections, a move feared to dilute the indigenous Kanak vote.
The state of emergency is set to last for 12 days, during which time the use of the TikTok video app has also been banned.
This unrest highlights the ongoing tensions surrounding France’s presence in the mineral-rich territory, situated in the southwest Pacific.
KanyiDaily had also reported how over 150 people were arrested after violent clashes erupted during protests across France over the killing of a 17-year-old boy by the police.
