On the sixth day of riots in New Caledonia, exchanges of fire left one dead and two injured on Saturday May 18. The death toll from the violence has risen to six deaths since Monday.
The essential
- A total of six people have now died following the riots in New Caledonia. A man died after trying to pass a roadblock on Saturday May 18. Two people were also injured. The other victims are three Kanak civilians and two gendarmes, one of the members of the police was the victim of an “accidental shooting” by one of his colleagues. The perpetrator of one of these homicides has surrendered.
- Gabriel Attal announced Friday May 17, during a meeting in Matignon, that the Olympic flame will ultimately not travel to New Caledonia on June 11.
- The Prime Minister also announced that by Sunday, no less than a thousand additional police officers and gendarmes would be sent to the site, to reinforce the 1,700 already present.
- While the damage linked to the riots is estimated at more than 500 million euros, the Prime Minister assured Friday evening that “the State will be there” for reconstruction.
- The emergency state of emergency has been in place since Thursday morning local time. If a bill relating to its extension is well in preparation behind the scenes, the decision will not be made until the end of the weekend. At the same time, gatherings remain prohibited and the curfew is still in effect from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Live
17:31 – More than 500 million euros in damage in New Caledonia
[Fin du direct] According to Ronan Dely, secretary of the New Caledonia Trade Federation and president of the Traders’ Union, the riots in New Caledonia have already caused “more than 500 million euros of damage”. “The New Caledonian economy is not on the ground, it is completely shattered, burned,” lamented Ronan Dely. For him, “without the French State and a strong commitment on its part, New Caledonia will not recover.”
15:52 – Firefighters as reinforcements
New Caledonia’s civil security announced the arrival of the first reinforcements from mainland France. Some “59 civil and military firefighters are expected in the coming days to reinforce local teams for an indefinite period,” civil security said on its Facebook account.
14:34 – The majority to have the text adopted in Congress in question
The Socialist Party maintains its position in favor of a “suspension of the constitutional process” and a “dialogue mission” for a resumption of negotiations. The left party believes that “the majority to have the text adopted in Congress is no longer assured”. “The President of the Republic must draw the consequences and withdraw the text,” jointly declare the socialist groups of the National Assembly and the Senate. Olivier Faure, First Secretary of the Socialist Party called on the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, to go to New Caledonia. “We must put an end to the ultimatum and rediscover the spirit of the Matignon agreements,” he wrote.
12:37 – The government of New Caledonia calls for the lifting of the blockades
The government of New Caledonia called on Saturday May 18 for the lifting of the blockades, which continue to block the territory and its economic heart of Greater Nouméa. It “firmly condemns any obstacle to people’s access to their essential needs,” said a press release.
11:32 – The mayor of Nouméa speaks of “incredible damage to private and public property”
Sonia Lagarde, mayor of Nouméa, spoke about the tense situation in New Caledonia. According to her, “we are far from a return to normalcy and appeasement.” “The last two nights were calmer, but the days are similar, with their share of fires. Barricades were set up in an eastern district of the city by separatists,” explains the elected official on BFMTV. She also deplores “incredible damage to private and public property”. “The situation is not improving, quite the contrary, despite all the calls for appeasement,” she added.
10:25 – 3,200 people stranded in the absence of flights
The government of New Caledonia has identified 3,200 people stranded due to the absence of commercial flights from and to the archipelago. These commercial flights have been suspended since Tuesday due to the riots which engulfed the island. The resumption of air traffic is subject to changes in security conditions.
09:20 – 1 dead and 2 injured in an exchange of fire
One man died and two others were injured this Saturday, May 18 in New Caledonia in an exchange of gunfire on a roadblock erected by rioters, in Kaala-Gomen, a town in the north of the archipelago. Shots were exchanged when two residents of the same family wanted to pass a roadblock: the father died, his son was injured, as well as a Kanak. This is the sixth victim since the start of the riots.
Learn more
The riots continue and the toll rises in New Caledonia. Four people have died since violence broke out on the archipelago, the Elysée announced on Wednesday May 15, following the defense and security council convened by Emmanuel Macron.
The violence and riots observed since Monday, May 13 in the Pacific territory have left hundreds injured according to Gérald Darmanin, including “around a hundred gendarmes who were evacuated while their gendarmerie was being attacked with axes and the “We were shooting at them with live ammunition” added the Minister of the Interior.
Macron establishes state of emergency in New Caledonia
Emmanuel Macron spoke with a handful of ministers for more than two hours this Wednesday morning during an urgently convened defense and security council. During the meeting, the head of state declared that “all violence is intolerable and will be the subject of an implacable response to ensure the return of republican order” according to the presidency and the triggering of the state of affairs. The emergency was probably at the heart of the conversations: “The President of the Republic requested that the decree aimed at declaring a state of emergency in New Caledonia be included on the agenda of the Council of Ministers which will meet at 4:30 p.m. ” announced the Élysée in a press release.
Indeed, Emmanuel Macron decided to trigger a state of emergency in New Caledonia following the defense and security council organized on Wednesday morning. “Violence is never tolerable or justifiable under any circumstances. I want to salute all the security forces involved. The priority is to regain order, calm and serenity” he added during his speaking in the hemicycle.
The Head of State reiterates his call for calm to the inhabitants of New Caledonia, but also to local elected officials. The latter, whether separatists or loyalists, also called for “calm and reason” in a joint declaration. Both the government and local elected officials are encouraging the resumption of discussions on the constitutional reform, the adoption of which ignited the powder. “The President of the Republic recalled the need for a resumption of political dialogue and asked the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territories to quickly invite the Caledonian delegations to Paris,” he also said. know the press release from the Elysée.
The High Commissioner of the Republic evokes an “insurrectional” situation
The authorities fear the continuation and above all an amplification of violence. “I let you imagine what will happen if militias start shooting at armed people,” declared Louis Le Franc, the high commissioner of the Republic, who describes the situation as “insurrectional”. Several “exchanges of buckshot between rioters and civil defense groups in Nouméa and Paita” and an “attempted intrusion into the Saint Michel brigade” were recorded.
The tensions and violence affecting the archipelago were revived by the vote of the National Assembly having adopted the constitutional reform which aims to expand the local electoral body. A text highly contested by elected Caledonian separatists. Some of them are calling for the text to be withdrawn, judging that calm cannot return as long as the reform in its current version is in the pipeline.
206 arrests in Nouméa
At least 206 arrests took place in Nouméa and elsewhere in New Caledonia between Monday and Thursday according to the High Commissioner of the Republic. 1,800 police officers and gendarmes are on site according to the Ministry of the Interior and 500 other members of the police will be deployed in the coming hours.
Schools “will remain closed until further notice” specifies the vice-rectorate of New Caledonia. Tontoura airport remains closed to commercial flights for the time being. “The situation is not serious, it is very serious. If the call for calm is not heard, there will be many deaths in the Nouméa metropolitan area today. We have entered a spiral dangerous, a mortal spiral” regretted Louis Le Franc during a press conference.
