New Caledonia independence party says Macron needs to do more to defuse tension
Sydney, Australia Reuters New Caledonia’s pro-independence political party has told French President Emmanuel Macron it can’t persuade protesters to remove roadblocks across the French Pacific territory because activists aren’t convinced Macron will drop a contentious electoral reform. At least seven people have died in protests against the constitutional amendment that would expand New Caledonia’s electorate […]
New Caledonia state of emergency to be lifted, says Paris
Paris, France/Sydney, Australia Reuters Seven more mobile force units will soon arrive as reinforcements in New Caledonia, the Elysée said in a statement on Monday, also indicating a state of emergency would end as planned in the French Pacific territory on Tuesday morning local time. The state of emergency would end on Monday evening at […]
In restive New Caledonia, Macron sees Pacific power and influence
Paris, France Reuters In 2018, a year after becoming France’s President, Emmanuel Macron flew to the remote French-ruled Pacific island of New Caledonia to outline his latest foreign policy plan. With China’s regional ambitions growing, a new Indo-Pacific strategy was needed to prevent it from becoming hegemonic, he said. New Caledonia would be a key […]
The colonial-era inequalities that fuelled the New Caledonia crisis
Paris, France Reuters French President Emmanuel Macron said on a visit to New Caledonia on Thursday that inequalities had widened on the French-ruled Pacific archipelago and were a driving force in the deadly civil unrest that broke out last week. The island territory is marked by deep disparities in education and employment, according to census […]
In riot-scarred New Caledonia, France’s Macron delays voting reform
Noumea, New Caledonia/Sydney, Australia Reuters French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday after a day of talks in New Caledonia that he would delay a voting reform that had triggered deadly riots on the French-ruled Pacific island, and try to seek a new political agreement. Speaking in the capital Noumea after meeting local political leaders, […]
Macron arrives in riot-hit New Caledonia for high-stakes talks
Sydney, Australia/Paris, France Reuters French President Emmanuel Macron landed in the Pacific island of New Caledonia on Thursday, for a day of talks during which he will aim to turn the page on deadly riots triggered by a contested electoral reform. Any attempt to convince the rioters to get off the streets will be a […]
New Caledonia protesters, police spar ahead of Macron visit
Reuters Protesters and a thousand French police reinforcements were playing a “game of cat and mouse” in New Caledonia, an independence group said on Wednesday, ahead of the arrival of France’s President Emmanuel Macron after the worst riots in 40 years. Macron is due to land in the French overseas territory in the Pacific on […]
France mobilises police to regain control of New Caledonia airport road
Paris, France Reuters French police trying to restore order in the island territory of New Caledonia after days of deadly unrest have cleared dozens of barricades that had been blocking the main road linking the airport to the capital, Noumea, a senior official said on Sunday. Around 60 barricades that protesters had put up along […]
Australians stranded in New Caledonia “running out of food” amid civil unrest
Sydney, Australia/Paris, France Reuters Australians stranded in New Caledonia are rationing food as they wait for a way out of the Pacific island territory, amid unrest that has killed six people, a traveller from Sydney said on Saturday. They are among 3,200 people who are stuck waiting to leave or enter the French-ruled territory as […]
Hundreds more French police start deploying to secure New Caledonia
Sydney, Australia/Paris, France Reuters French police reinforcements began arriving in New Caledonia on Friday in a massive push to regain control of the capital, the top French official in the Pacific island territory said, after rioting in which four people were killed and hundreds arrested. After three nights of upheaval, Thursday night was relatively quiet […]