In New Caledonia, buildings burn and police are attacked

Several buildings, including a police station and a town hall, were set on fire overnight in New Caledonia, authorities said on Monday, as the French Pacific territory was hit by a new wave of unrest.

“The night was … marked by unrest throughout the mainland and on the island of Pins y Mare, which required the intervention of numerous reinforcements: with attacks on the police, arson and roadblocks,” said a press release from the High Commission, which represents the French state in the archipelago.

In mid-May, riots and looting broke out in New Caledonia over a plan for electoral reform. The indigenous Kanak population feared that this would leave them permanently in the minority and put their hopes for independence permanently out of reach.

Nine people were killed in the riots and material damage is estimated at over 1.5 billion euros (1.6 billion US dollars).

The French government responded by sending more than 3,000 soldiers and police to the area, nearly 17,000 kilometers from Paris.

In Dumbea, north of the capital Noumea, the municipal police station and a garage were set on fire. Four armored vehicles intervened, an AFP journalist said.

AFP learned that several fires broke out in the Ducos and Magenta districts of Noumea, while clashes between police and separatists occurred in Bourail, leaving one person injured.

The High Commission reported that “several fires were extinguished”, particularly in Ducos and Magenta, adding that “the premises and vehicles of the municipal police, as well as private vehicles” were set on fire.

(AFP)

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