The state of emergency on the Pacific island territory of New Caledonia will end Tuesday morning after two weeks of violent unrest sparked by French plans to change provincial election rules.
The state of emergency, imposed on 16 May, will end at 8 p.m. Monday in Paris (6 p.m. GMT and 5 a.m. Tuesday in Nouméa), the Elysee Palace said in a statement issued Sunday night. Authorities also say another 480 law enforcement officers have flown to the territory as reinforcements to the 3,000 security personnel who arrived there at the start of the protests.
Violence erupted in New Caledonia, where about 40 per cent of the population is indigenous Kanak, as France’s parliament prepared to debate a constitutional change that would allow people who have lived in the territory for at least 10 years to vote in provincial elections.
Critics said the amendment would weaken the Kanaks’ influence over voting and undermine the Nouméa Accord, one of two key political agreements made after the last major outbreak of violence in the 1980s.
At least seven people have died in the latest civil unrest, with barricades erected on major roads and commercial properties looted and set on fire.
Police shot dead a seventh victim on Friday night, shortly after French President Emmanuel Macron visited the islands to try to calm the situation and promised that parliament would withdraw the amendment.
Macron seeks de-escalation
Macron’s decision not to extend the state of emergency shows Paris’ desire to start a de-escalation process and restore conditions for dialogue, the statement added.
The main pro-independence political coalition, FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist Front for National Liberation), issued a communiqué on Saturday saying the priority was to de-escalate tensions and the only viable solution was “political and non-repressive”.
The end of the state of emergency was to allow the FLNKS to meet, the French statement said, and the removal of the roadblocks was also “a necessary condition for the start of concrete and serious negotiations.”
Airports still closed
Police are struggling to control parts of the capital Nouméa and the international airport will remain closed to commercial traffic until at least 2 June, the operator said on Monday.
Paris has ruled New Caledonia since the 1800s, but many Kanaks resent France’s rule over their islands and want more autonomy or independence.
Macron promised during his lightning trip to New Caledonia that the planned changes “will not be enforced by force.”
