A policeman in riot-hit New Caledonia killed a man on Friday after being attacked by protesters, as France’s prime minister warned the situation in the French Pacific territory was “extremely fragile”.
President Emmanuel Macron flew to the archipelago on Thursday in an urgent bid to defuse a political crisis over voting reform, following days of violence, looting and arson.
On Friday, he was returning to mainland France after his lightning visit, which some officials had hoped would help quell more than a week of violence that has now killed seven people.
“Today, the mission continues in New Caledonia”, said French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
He spoke as he paid tribute to two gendarmes, Nicolas Molinari and Xavier Salou, who were killed on the Pacific archipelago, some 17,000 kilometres (10,600 miles) from mainland France.
Molinari, 22, was shot in the head while on duty, while Salou, 46, was accidentally shot by a colleague.
“The situation in New Caledonia today remains extremely fragile, and anything could cause it to falter,” Attal said in front of the two gendarmes’ coffins in the southeastern suburbs of Paris.
He added that order must be quickly re-established “before the situation degenerates further”.
Earlier Friday, a police officer and his colleague were “physically attacked by a group of around 15 individuals” in Dumbea just outside Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia, prompting him to fire his weapon, said prosecutor Yves Dupas.
The officer was taken into custody, the prosecutor said, adding that a probe into voluntary manslaughter by a person in authority was launched. Such legal moves are usually automatic in France when a policeman kills an individual.
– ‘Not Wild West’ –
France has enforced a state of emergency, flying in hundreds of police and military reinforcements to restore order.
The territory’s deadliest violence in four decades erupted over a French voting reform plan that indigenous Kanaks say will dilute their voice.
“Violence should never be allowed to take root,” Macron said during a televised interview with local journalists at the end of his visit.
“What I want is a message of order and return to calm as this is not the Wild West,” he said.
“A path must be opened for the calming of tensions and this will allow us to build what happens next.”
He said that all roadblocks should be “immediately” removed.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Christian Tein, leader of the CCAT, the pro-independence group organising the protests, did not call off the roadblocks, but said he wanted to “loosen the noose a little” so that fuel and medicines could be delivered.
“This is our priority”, he said.
New Caledonia has been ruled from Paris since the 1800s, but many Indigenous Kanaks still resent France’s power over their islands and want fuller autonomy or independence.
France had planned to give voting rights to thousands of non-indigenous long-term residents, a move Kanaks say would dilute the influence of their votes.
Macron conceded more talks were needed on the voting changes, and pledged they would “not be forced through in the current context”.
Caledonians would be asked to vote on their future if leaders can reach an over-arching agreement, Macron said.
The French parliament’s lower house has approved the voting reform, but final ratification is still needed.
‘Ready to continue protesting’
In the Montravel district of Noumea, activists were waiting for further instructions from the FLNKS, a pro-independence party.
“We’re ready to continue protesting because apparently the president of the Republic doesn’t want to listen to us,” said one activist, identifying himself only by his first name, Yamel.
Separatists’ barricades have cut off whole neighbourhoods and the main route to the international airport, which remains shuttered.
It will remain closed to commercial flights until at least 9:00 am on Tuesday (2200 GMT Monday), Charles Roger, director of its operator, New Caledonia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told AFP.
That would extend the shutdown to nearly two weeks, after flights were halted on May 15.
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