Man shot dead by police in French New Caledonia | National

French police shot dead a suspected gunman in New Caledonia on Wednesday, local prosecutors said, bringing the death toll to 10 after nearly two months of unrest in the French Pacific territory.

The suspect was killed in a gun battle in the Mont-Dore district outside New Caledonia’s capital Noumea, where police were deployed to clear roadblocks.

When police came under fire, members of the elite GIGN unit covering the operation fired back, killing the man, a source familiar with the case told AFP.

A second source familiar with the case said police were dispatched to arrest those behind frequent gun attacks in the area, but came under fire themselves while clearing a main road.

In mid-May, riots broke out in New Caledonia, nearly 17,000 kilometers from Paris, over a planned expansion of the electoral roll. The indigenous Kanak population fears it would make them a permanent minority and destroy their hopes for independence.

Some barricaded streets and burned or looted cars, shops and public buildings. Paris then sent thousands of soldiers and police in response.

Electoral reform, which requires a change to the French constitution, has been virtually in limbo since President Emmanuel Macron dissolved parliament for new elections that resulted in a lower house without a clear majority on Sunday.

But the arrests of independence supporters on June 19 fueled the unrest again.

Five of the 13 people accused of helping to organize the riots are in custody on the French mainland and are currently awaiting trial.

The most prominent among them is Christian Tein of the independence group CCAT, which accuses Paris of being behind the violence.

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