France to send 1,000 more forces to New Caledonia to suppress protests

France plans to send “around 1,000 additional security personnel” to its Pacific territory of New Caledonia, the French PM says, amid a state of emergency declared in the protest-hit group of islands.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced on Thursday after concluding a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron that the situation in the far-off territory was “very tense.”

The reinforcements would join "1,700 staff already on the ground”. 

The French government seeks to quell days of largely indigenous protests triggered by a controversial bill aimed at enlarging the electorate for upcoming elections in New Caledonia, which lies around 1,500 kilometers east of Australia.

The growing unrest has spiraled into the deadliest violence since the 1980s, claiming the lives of at least three indigenous Kanak people and a police officer so far. Hundreds of other people have also been injured in the protests.

An overnight curfew has proved to be futile in ending the rallies.

New Caledonia, known for its palm-lined beaches and marine life-rich lagoon, sits atop around a quarter of the world’s known nickel reserves. Tourism and nickel are the territory’s two main sources of income. The region’s nickel deposits are estimated to represent 25 percent of the world’s.

The archipelago has been part of France since 1853, but during the past few decades, relations have been strained between pro-France Caledonians — mainly the white descendants of early European settlers in the territory — and independence advocates, mainly ethnic Kanaks.

During the 1980s, fighting between the two sides left more than 70 people dead in the archipelago, which is now home to roughly 270,000 people.

The Noumea Accord signed in 1998 set the groundwork for a two-decade transition expected to gradually transfer competences to the local government.

According to the new rules, people who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years are eligible to vote in the territory’s provincial elections, diluting a 1998 accord that limited voting rights.

Many Kanaks, who make up some 40 percent of New Caledonia’s nearly 300,000 people, fear the move will undermine their position in the territory.

Earlier this week, the National Assembly voted in Paris to adopt the measure. However, voting reform must still be approved by a joint sitting of both houses of the French parliament since it represents a constitutional change.

Pro-independence New Caledonians clash with police as French ministers visit

Thousands of pro-independence protesters have clashed with police in New Caledonia amid visit by three French government ministers.

The office of the high commissioner, which represents France 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.”

Over 200 “rioters” had been arrested, it added, stressing that the authorities were “determined to quickly restore public order and take all necessary measures to protect the population of New Caledonia.”

Macron has already said that French legislators would vote to adopt the constitutional change by the end of June. 

On Thursday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said France expected to regain control of the situation in Pacific territory “in the coming hours.”

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