The unrest in the overseas area has been going on for six nights. The French government representative threatens to raid protest strongholds.
Not the only car wreck on the streets of Nouméa since the riots broke out Photo: Delphine Mayeur/dpa
NOUMEA episode | After a sixth night Ongoing unrest in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia Numerous forces broke through roadblocks on Sunday to regain control of the 60-kilometre road between the capital Nouméa and La Tontouta international airport. Security forces “broke through” about 60 roadblocks without violence, a government official said. According to authorities, 600 heavily armed gendarmes were deployed to secure the artery.
The road has been blocked by independence supporters for days. Flights to and from New Caledonia have been suspended since Tuesday. On Saturday, the government said 3,200 people were stranded because of the canceled flights. Australia and New Zealand had asked France for permission to launch evacuation flights for their citizens.
Unrest in the overseas territory has continued since Monday, leaving six dead and hundreds injured. The riots were caused by a change in the electoral law put forward by the French government, which, according to independence supporters, would reduce the influence of the native population.
The representative of the French government in New Caledonia, Louis Le Franc, announced raids to recapture locations in Nouméa and the towns of Dumbéa and Païta. “The republican order will be restored at any cost,” the Paris High Commissioner said in a televised address.
The situation will “intensify” in areas held by protesters, Le Franc said. “If they want to use their weapons, they will take any risk.” The conflict remains serious and is “unprecedented,” he continued. “I want to say to the rioters: stop, return to calm, give up your weapons!”
Although emergency services had broken through 60 roadblocks, the main road between the capital and the airport was littered with wrecked cars, burnt wood and metal. The road has only been cleared at about 15 of the blockages and the road has also been damaged in several places, Le Franc said.
Journalists from the AFP news agency noted that independence supporters had regained control of some roadblocks. The reporters were still able to reach the airport.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin called for the deployment of hundreds of security forces in the French overseas territory announced on Saturday evening. A major deployment of 600 security forces “is currently being launched in New Caledonia” to “gain full control” of the road between Nouméa and La Tontouta International Airport so that the airport can reopen. Darmanin wrote in the online service X.
Due to the tense situation, the government in Paris declared a state of emergency in the overseas territory and sent 1,000 additional security forces. The unrest in recent days has seen shops looted, barricades erected and buildings and vehicles set on fire. On Sunday morning, New Caledonia’s southern province announced that all schools would remain closed next week.