New Caledonian authorities reported Thursday that at least two people died in clashes with gendarmes during a police operation in the town of Saint-Louis, a pro-independence enclave in French territory, an incident that occurred four months after strong protests against electoral roll reform.
The operation was aimed at arresting several people allegedly involved in the riots recorded in previous months. The authorities, who confirmed the death of a second person, specified that the two men, aged 29 and 30, had opened fire on the gendarmes.
The two men died due to the severity of their injuries after being shot several times by an officer of the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group, as explained in a press release by the Attorney General of New Caledonia, Yves Dupas, who ordered the opening of two investigations in this regard.
Thus, the death toll in the context of the wave of violence that began last May stands at thirteen. Thousands of people then took to the streets to block the constitutional reform that provided for a modification of the census to grant the right to vote to all French citizens residing in the territory for at least ten years.
Indigenous and pro-independence populations have harshly criticized the measure, saying it would lead to a loss of power and representation. Until now, the census was limited to residents of the territory before 1998 and their descendants, provided they had maintained their habitual residence in the territory for at least ten years.
The situation has led French President Emmanuel Macron to back down and say he would not “force” electoral reform, while specifying that relevant reports would be made from Paris to reach a solution in this regard. Last week, the authorities extended and tightened the curfew ahead of the September 24 holiday, which coincides with the anniversary of the start of French colonization in 1853 and could generate new sources of violence.
The curfew had already been in force in the region for nearly four months, amid a strong wave of protests against the constitutional reform, which extends the electoral lists to French citizens who have resided on the island for more than ten years.
