By Mathurin DEREL
NOUMEA, May 18, 2024 (AFP) – French Pacific territory New Caledonia was “under siege” Saturday, the mayor of its capital Noumea said, with another person killed in rioting that has left six dead over six days.
Anger is still high over a contested voting reform, with Noumea mayor Sonia Lagarde telling news channel BFMTV “we’re far from getting back to calm” even after the arrival of hundreds of military and police reinforcements.
Saturday’s deadly incident occurred in the archipelago’s northern Kaala-Gomen area, General Nicolas Mattheos said, with two other men wounded.
An informed source said the dead man and one of the injured were a father and son trying to cross a barricade erected by rioters.
Hundreds of heavily armed French soldiers and police on Saturday patrolled Noumea, where streets were filled with debris.
“Today, the rule of law, security for citizens, are not back in place everywhere in (New) Caledonia,” said Philippe Blaise, vice-president of the territory’s southern province.
AFP reporters in the city’s Magenta district saw vehicles and buildings burned, with a phalanx of riot police on the scene trying to reassert government control.
Overnight, residents reported hearing gunfire, helicopters and “massive explosions” — what seemed to be gas canisters blowing up inside a building that was set alight.
For days Helene, 42, has been manning makeshift barricades in shifts with neighbours as they waited for hundreds of French security forces being flown 17,000 kilometres (10,600 miles) to impose order.
“At night we hear shooting, and things going off,” she told AFP. “Helicopters, and military planes landing — which is sweet music to our ears.”
– Six dead –
For almost a week, the usually unhurried oceanside city has been convulsed.
Two gendarmes and three other people — all Indigenous Kanaks — have also been killed.
The unrest has been blamed on economic malaise, social tensions and — above all — a political fight between mostly Indigenous pro-independence activists and Paris authorities.
French officials have accused a separatist group known as CCAT of being behind the riots.
Ten activists accused of organising the violence have been placed under house arrest, according to authorities.
The territory is “on a destructive path”, warned local minister Vaimu’a Muliava, telling those involved “you are only punishing yourselves.”
CCAT on Friday called for “a time of calm to break the spiral of violence”.
Despite that appeal, 81-year-old Noumea resident Annie also reported hearing loud explosions during the night.
She said the week’s violence was worse than that seen during the tumultuous 1980s, a time of political killings and hostage-taking euphemistically referred to as “The Events”.
“At the time, there weren’t as many weapons,” she said.
– 1,000 reinforcements –
New Caledonia has been French territory since the mid-1800s.
Almost two centuries on, politics remains dominated by debate about whether the islands should be part of France, autonomous or independent — with opinions split roughly along ethnic lines.
The latest cycle of violence was sparked by plans in Paris to impose new voting rules that could give tens of thousands of non-Indigenous residents voting rights.
Pro-independence groups say that would dilute the vote of Indigenous Kanaks, who make up about 40 percent of the population.
French authorities have called for talks and insist the situation is now “calmer” and being brought under control.
Around 1,000 security forces began joining the 1,700 on the ground from Thursday.
Efforts to negotiate peace have so far stumbled, although President Emmanuel Macron began contacting pro- and anti-independence officials individually on Friday, his office said.
– Low supplies –
Meanwhile in Noumea, hundreds of people lined up outside shops, hoping to secure desperately needed food and supplies.
“Do your shopping in 10 minutes, to allow everyone to get supplies!” said one attendant ushering customers into a supermarket in Magenta on Saturday.
A local business group estimated the damage, concentrated around Noumea, at 200 million euros ($217 million).
The damage to the islands’ reputation may cost even more.
Tourism is a big earner for New Caledonia, but an estimated 3,200 tourists and other travellers have been stranded inside or outside the archipelago by the closure of Noumea’s international airport.
On Friday, a French government agency, Viginum, said it detected a “massive and coordinated” online campaign pushing claims that French police had shot pro-independence demonstrators in New Caledonia.
The government pointed to the involvement of “Azerbaijani actors” in the campaign, deepening a diplomatic spat between the two countries.
Azerbaijan has denied accusations of interference in New Caledonia.
