President Emmanuel Macron has called the riots in New Caledonia, a French-Pacific territory, as a “unprecedented insurrection movement” that no one anticipated.
During a tour of police headquarters in the capital Nouméa on Thursday, he stated that the coming days and weeks would be challenging, but Paris will “go until the end” to restore order.
Six people, including two police officers, have been murdered and hundreds injured in riots, looting, and arson sparked by a contentious electoral reform.
New Caledonia, a series of islands between Australia and Fiji, has been a French territory since the nineteenth century. Tensions have been high for some time between the central authority in Paris and the indigenous Kanaks, who make up around 40% of the tiny archipelago.
Kanak protesters fear that a new law giving voting rights to French residents who have lived there for more than 10 years will dilute the influence of the indigenous population.
However, the violence that began on 13 May is the worst unrest seen there since the 1980s.
A state of emergency has been imposed, and President Macron has said that a 3,000-strong force deployed from France will remain – even during the Paris Summer Olympics if required.
Arriving in Nouméa after a 24-hour flight from Paris, President Macron said he wanted the return of peace, calm, and security “as quickly as possible.”
He paid his condolences to the riot victims while meeting with local political and economic leaders.
Separatist leaders attended the summit, expressing hope that it would “breathe new life” into talks with France.
Mr Macron confessed that the most delicate debate to be had was about politics – and the future of New Caledonia, according to the BBC’s Australia reporter Katy Watson, adding that he will have a major task ahead of him.
Since the violence began on May 13, police have detained 269 people, and New Caledonia is officially under emergency conditions.
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