More than 100 individuals including a hundred people Gendarmes and Police were found injured in New Caledonia amongst them the French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin reportedly said on Wednesday.
Darmanin added that authorities had yet to establish the “conditions” surrounding one person who got shot dead on a night between Tuesday and Wednesday, as dozens of homes and businesses were set alight during unrest linked to anger at constitutional reforms. Three people died during the riots, an official stated. Shops remained closed while unrest continues in France with schools too. The Pacific Island nation’s voting rules have been changed by the National Assembly.
One person was reported to have been killed by gunshot wounds in an industrial district. This may not have been a law enforcement officer but “maybe by someone acting in self-defense,” High Commissioner Louis Le Francis said.
Protests erupted earlier this week before a vote on a bill that would allow French citizens who have lived in New Caledonia for ten years or more to put forward candidates for provincial elections – something local politicians fear could undermine Caledonian votes.Macron administration has called for calm amidst the turmoil, just like his counterpart Louis Mapp.
While High Commissioner Louis Le Francis explained that it might not be an officer of the law who fired the shots but “personally, I think maybe somebody defended themselves,” there was also another death identified through gun injuries within an industrial area.
The French government staunchly defended changing voting rules which were approved by 351 MPs to 153 arguing that these will promote democracy in this part of their country through free and fair elections. President Macron wants discussions between factions supporting independence and those opposing it before a special parliament meets up to pass this new legislation.
The main pro-independence group, Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) said it was ready for talks with “a view to finding an agreement on the path to decolonization of New Caledonia”.
