May 21. () –
The French High Commissioner in New Caledonia, Louis Le Franc, raised this Monday to 270 the number of detainees during the riots that have occurred on the island a week ago in protest against the constitutional reform that seeks to expand the census and allow French citizens vote in the elections, a decision that a good part of the Kanak indigenous people, pro-independence supporters in particular, see as a curtailment of their rights.
“The death toll remains at six, including two police officers. In total, about 270 protesters have been arrested. 21 supermarkets have managed to reopen and are being replenished little by little,” Le Franc said in a statement.
After this, he congratulated the security forces in the overseas territory, where 1,050 members of the National Gendarmerie and the Police have been deployed, who will be joined by another 600 “in the next few hours”, to ensure that The island returns to calm after restoring “republican order.”
Although the situation is improving, Le Franc has announced the deployment of “military resources” to protect public buildings, and that La Tontouta International Airport will remain closed at least until next Thursday, when a new evaluation of the situation. In that sense, he has reported that the necessary arrangements have already been made so that tourists can return to their homes.
The measures prohibiting gatherings, the transportation of weapons, the sale of alcohol, circulation on roads and public places between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. will remain in force while the state of emergency is in force.
The conflict broke out on Monday of last week after the debate in the French Parliament of an electoral reform that grants the vote to French citizens. The text, finally approved and which the country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, wants to ratify next month, proposes the right to vote for French citizens who have been residing in the territory for at least ten years.
The Kanaks, and especially the independence alliance of the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), have denounced the proposal as a blow to their aspirations at a particularly critical moment in relations with France, after the alliance boycotted the last independence referendum of 2021, which resulted in victory for the unionists.
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