New Caledonia: Mayor of the capital says the city is under siege as riots continue in the country

The person, of European origin, was killed and two other people were wounded in the Cala-Gumin area in the north of the region by gunfire at a checkpoint set up by the perpetrators of the riots.

As for the other five dead who died previously, they were three civilians from the indigenous “Kanak” population, in addition to two members of the gendarme, one of whom was accidentally shot by a colleague during a security mission.

Reports indicate that more than 200 people have been arrested and that France has sent an additional 1,000 police to join the 1,700 personnel already present in the region.

Pictures taken from inside the area show rows of burned cars, temporary barriers, and queues of people outside shops.

On Thursday, local authorities declared a state of emergency, which includes a nightly curfew and a ban on public gatherings, alcohol sales, and the carrying of weapons, in addition to a ban on the TikTok application.

On Sunday, the French authorities began implementing what they described as a “major operation” in New Caledonia, with the participation of hundreds of gendarmes, to secure a main road linking Noumea to its international airport.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Saturday night in a post on the .

Controlling this road is an urgent matter for Paris, especially with New Zealand announcing on Sunday that it had asked France for permission to send planes to evacuate its citizens.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said that the planes are “ready for take-off and we are awaiting permission from the French authorities to find out when these flights can be carried out safely.”

With flights to and from Noumea suspended since Tuesday, local authorities estimate that about 3,200 tourists and travelers are stranded on and outside the archipelago.

Tourists stuck in the area described how they had to ration their supplies while waiting for a way to leave.

Joanne Elias from Australia, who stays in the Phnomea resort with her husband and four children, said that she was informed of the necessity of filling the bathtub with water in case the water was cut off.

“The children are definitely hungry because we don’t have many options for what we can give them food,” she said.

“We don’t know how long our stay here will be,” she added.

After announcing the operation to secure the airport road, a convoy including armored vehicles and construction workshop vehicles moved from Noumea, heading to one of the suburbs of the capital.

On Sunday, journalists at Agence France-Presse saw that pro-independence protesters in Noumea and its environs were still restricting traffic on the roads through many barriers erected using stones and other obstacles.

One of the protesters at a checkpoint in Tamua told Agence France-Presse, “We are prepared to go to the maximum extent, otherwise what is the point?”

The High Commissioner of the French Republic in New Caledonia, Louis Le Fran, confirmed in a statement on Sunday morning that last night was “calmer” and that the state was moving to control the security situation.

He added, “A total of 230 rioters were arrested” in about a week.

It is expected that re-establishing calm by force will be an arduous task for law enforcement forces, as riots in some neighborhoods during the night show the protesters’ determination to express their anger.

Vice President of the Southern Province of New Caledonia, Philippe Blaise, told the French channel BFMTV on Saturday: “The reality is that there are areas where there is no law… controlled by armed gangs, gangs calling for independence,” adding, “In these places, they By destroying everything.”

Blaise pointed the finger at the Field Action Coordination Cell, the most extremist group in the Socialist Kanak People’s Liberation Front, and a number of its leaders were placed under house arrest after the outbreak of violence.

In a new example of the unrest, La Premiere reported that a multimedia library was set on fire in Noumea’s Rivière-Saille neighborhood last night.

The municipality of Noumea confirmed to Agence France-Presse that it was unable to verify this news “because entering this neighborhood is not possible.”

The city’s mayor, Sonia Lagarde, told French channel BFMTV on Saturday that “the situation is not improving, quite the opposite, despite all the calls for calm.”

She added that it is impossible to estimate the extent of the destruction that occurred, but the burned buildings included municipal buildings, libraries, and schools.

She continued, “Can we say that we are in a besieged city? Yes, I think we can say that.”

She said the security forces should be given “more time” to improve the situation.

Residents reported hearing sounds of gunfire, helicopters flying, and “huge explosions” believed to be gas cylinders inside the burning buildings.

“At night we hear gunfire and things exploding,” Helen, 42, who guards makeshift barricades in shifts with neighbours, told AFP.

In an indication of the fear that the unrest would be prolonged, Paris canceled the passage of the Olympic torch through New Caledonia, which was scheduled for June 11.

Meanwhile, residents of New Caledonia face difficulties in moving around, purchasing food, and receiving medical care, with a decrease in the number of stores able to open their doors, and increasing obstacles to traffic, especially in poor neighborhoods or those that witness more riots than others.

Local authorities in the Southern Governorate, where nearly two-thirds of the archipelago’s population resides, announced that all schools will remain closed throughout next week.

The French authorities hope that the current state of emergency will reduce the violence that began on Monday.

Opposition to amendments to the electoral law in New Caledonia attracted support in France, where a solidarity protest march took place on Saturday in the city of Toulouse, and Kanak flags were raised among the flags raised in a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Paris.

The unrest also led to renewed diplomatic tension between France and Azerbaijan, which grew last year after Azerbaijan took control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

France had supported Armenia in the conflict over the Armenian-majority region located within the borders of Azerbaijan.

The French government agency Vigenome, a body that monitors foreign digital interference, said on Friday that it had discovered a “massive and coordinated” online campaign to push allegations that French police officers had opened fire on protesters calling for independence in New Caledonia.

The French government claimed Azerbaijan’s involvement in the campaign, although the Azerbaijani government denied these allegations.

For his part, French Senator Claude Mallory said, “If there are more invisible interventions that should be feared, they are China’s interventions.”

New Caledonia has been subject to French colonization since the late nineteenth century.

There is a political debate in the archipelago over whether it should remain part of France, enjoy autonomy, or gain independence, with opinions divided along ethnic lines.

The archipelago has held an independence referendum three times, with the first two showing a slim majority in favor of remaining part of France.

As for the third referendum, it was boycotted by pro-independence parties after the authorities refused to postpone the vote due to the Covid pandemic.