France: French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that French troops will stay in New Caledonia “for as long as needed” following over a week of turmoil sparked by French proposals to alter electoral regulations in the Pacific island territory.
Since the violence started, over 3,000 soldiers have been transferred out of Paris, and they may remain there until the July 26–27 Olympic Games in Paris, according to Macron.
Since the protests started and a state of emergency was imposed, six people—three of them young Kanaks—had died and around 280 have been taken into custody.
Macron said he would be against prolonging the state of emergency if barriers and obstacles were removed after observing a minute of silence for the victims.
At a meeting held on Thursday at the Noumea residence of France’s high commissioner to New Caledonia, the French president also had a discussion with the pro-independence President of the Government of New Caledonia, Louis Mapou, and the President of Congress, Roch Wamytan.
Macron arrived in Noumea after traveling around 17,000 kilometers (10,500 miles) from continental France. He was only slated to stay in New Caledonia for about 12 hours.
Once the road from the international airport to Noumea was restored, the French president’s motorcade was met with protesters holding New Caledonian flags throughout the streets.
Approximately 40 percent of the slightly over 300,000 residents of New Caledonia, a Pacific island nation sandwiched between Australia and Fiji, are Kanaks.
Under the terms of the so-called Noumea Accord, France consented in 1998 to give up more political authority over the territory and to restrict voting in New Caledonia’s provincial and assembly elections to individuals who were island residents at the time.
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