French President Emmanuel Macron has flown to , seeking a political solution to end riots in the South Pacific French archipelago. A recent change to voting rights has worsened ethnic tensions there.
Macron is due to land early on Thursday local time in the French overseas territory for talks after government electoral reforms there.
Indigenous Kanaks seek independence for the territory of 270,000 people, and see the changes as part of an effort to dash that dream.
Marcon seeks to restore order
The Elysee Palace said Macron’s visit would focus on restoring order and fostering talks among local leaders. The visit would also discuss the significant reconstruction needed after violence, with damage estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of euros (dollars).
“Faced with the outbreak of violence, the priority is the return of order to allow dialogue to resume in New Caledonia,” government spokeswoman Prisca Thevenot.
“We are clear: Much remains to be done before the return to normal. The government is fully mobilized.”
What sparked the unrest?
The violence exploded on May 13 as legislature in Paris debated changes to the French Constitution that would open up New Caledonia’s voter lists.
The proposal would extend voting rights to people who have lived in New Caledonia for at least 10 years, who are seen as less likely to favor independence.
Opponents fear the measure will benefit pro-France politicians and damage the separatist cause in any future independence referendum.
The unrest is the worst in some 40 years and comes after decades of tensions between indigenous Kanaks and descendants of colonists and other people who have settled in New Caledonia and want to stay part of France.
The , with six people having died so far and a trail of torched cars and looted shops left behind.
Two primary schools and 300 cars in a dealership were set ablaze in the capital, Noumea, overnight into Wednesday, the mayor’s office told the AFP news agency.
Pro-independence supporters and others seeking to protect homes and villages from the violence have set up barricades in the streets.
The New Caledonia High Commission on Wednesday said some 1,050 reinforcements from the gendarmerie, police, and civil security had been deployed with more than 90 of the roadblocks dismantled.
rc/wmr (AFP, Reuters, AP)
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