Their vehicle was pelted with stones and the police officers protecting them were hit with a Molotov cocktail.
Five people were arrested on Tuesday in New Caledonia after the attack on two loyalist elected officials who were travelling on Saturday 31 August on the Isle of Pines, south of Grande Terre, announced the public prosecutor of Noumea.
The two elected officials, Laura Vendegou and Virginie Ruffenach, were violently attacked while visiting a recently burned church. Their vehicle was the target of stones and the police officers protecting them were victims of a Molotov cocktail.
No injuries
“The investigation carried out by the Noumea search brigade led to the arrest, early this morning, of five people, adults and residents of the Isle of Pines.”announced prosecutor Yves Dupas in a press release.
They are being prosecuted for “intentional violence” against the gendarmerie officers and the two elected officials and “intentional damage”. The incident did not cause any injuries.
In a press release, the High Commissioner of the Republic Louis Le Franc denounced “these unspeakable and extremely serious acts” against elected officials, adding that “their freedom of speech and movement throughout the territory of New Caledonia are a pillar of living together”.
Provincial services closed
In response to the incident, the Southern Province, chaired by loyalist Sonia Backès, announced the closure of all provincial services on the island from September 5 to 9 in order to “to raise awareness among the population and among traditional authorities of the seriousness of the situation”.
This involves the suspension of transport and all medical assistance to the island, which is about fifty kilometres from Grande Terre. Calédonie ensemble, another loyalist party, has denounced a “disproportionate decision”considering that we “cannot ‘punish’ the entire population of the island”.
