French President Emmanuel Macron pushed Thursday on a visit to riot-hit New Caledonia for the removal of protesters’ barricades and said police sent in to help battle deadly unrest in the French Pacific archipelago “will stay as long as necessary,” even as security services back in France focus in...
French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with a policeman upon his arrival at the central police station in Noumea, New Caledonia on Thursday, May 23, 2024. Macron has met with local officials in riot-hit New Caledonia, after crossing the globe in a high-profile show of support for the French Pacific archipelago gripped by deadly unrest.
Pro-independence Kanak leaders, who a week earlier declined Macron’s offer of talks by video, joined a meeting the French leader hosted in the capital, Nouméa, with rival pro-Paris leaders who want New Caledonia, which became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III, to remain part of France. Barricades made up of charred vehicles and other debris have turned some parts of Nouméa into no-go zones and made traveling around perilous, including for the sick requiring medical treatment and for families fretting about where to find food and water after shops were pillaged and torched. French authorities say more than 280 people have been arrested since violence first flared May 13 as the French legislature in Paris debated contested changes to New Caledonia voter lists.
It was late Tuesday in Paris when he left on the 16,000-kilometer trip but, because of the distance and time difference, it was Thursday morning in New Caledonia when he arrived with his interior and defense ministers. “No one saw it coming with this level of organization and violence,” he said. “You did your duty. And I thank you.”
“We will discuss questions of economic reconstruction, support and rapid response, and the most delicate political questions, as we talk about the future of New Caledonia,” Macron said. “By the end of the day, decisions will be taken and announcements will be made.”
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