After a week of riots, the archipelago is still at a standstill. Tuesday morning, a first flight arrived on Tuesday to evacuate tourists stuck in New Caledonia, despite “clear progress” in security touted by Emmanuel Macron.
Information to remember
⇒ 400 businesses and businesses affected since the start of the riots
⇒ First evacuations of tourists in sight
⇒ Fragile return to calm according to Paris
400 businesses and businesses affected since the start of the riots
Around 400 businesses and businesses have suffered damage in Nouméa and neighboring towns since the start of riots in New Caledonia a week ago, the Nouméa public prosecutor announced on Tuesday. “Significant damage, in particular by fire, has been noted in the city of Nouméa and neighboring municipalities concerning on the one hand public buildings or equipment and on the other hand economic structures,” said prosecutor Yves Dupas in a communicated.
Concerning these “economic structures”, he specified that “around 400 establishments such as shops, hypermarkets, businesses” were destroyed or damaged, “generating significant damage”.
First evacuations of tourists in sight
While the closure of Nouméa international airport to commercial flights was extended until Thursday, Australia and New Zealand announced Tuesday morning the dispatch of several flights to evacuate them. The New Zealand government chartered a flight to Nouméa which left at the end of the morning to repatriate 50 of its nationals, Camberra having for its part announced the dispatch during the day of two planes which will evacuate “Australian tourists and other “.
This is the first in a “series of flights proposed to begin repatriating New Zealanders”, underlined the diplomacy of this country which has increased calls in recent days to be able to exfiltrate its nationals. “In cooperation with France and Australia, we are working to (organize) other flights in the coming days,” said the New Zealand ministry, which welcomed the “support” of the French authorities in Paris and Noumea. At the same time, Australia announced that it had received authorization to take off two flights “today” (Tuesday) to evacuate its nationals.
Fragile return to calm according to Paris
Eight days after the start of unprecedented violence in 40 years on the French archipelago, “the return to calm continues throughout the territory”, wrote in a press release the High Commissioner of the Republic, Louis Le Franc, confirming the “clear progress in restoring order” mentioned by President Emmanuel Macron the day before in Paris. However, he announced the sending of additional troops “in the coming hours” to quell the violence which has shaken the archipelago since Monday, in reaction to a constitutional reform decried by the separatists. Nouméa and its surrounding area continue to be the scene of localized clashes and the roadblocks have even expanded or been reconstituted in places during the night.
In the metropolitan area of the capital Nouméa, “road clearance operations are continuing,” the state representative also wrote, stressing that 21 large stores have reopened there “and are gradually being replenished.” During a Defense Council on Monday, Emmanuel Macron decided to mobilize military personnel “for a time” in order to “protect public buildings” and thus relieve the internal security forces.
Reform must be maintained according to loyalists
The loyalist camp in New Caledonia called on Tuesday for the electoral reform which has been setting the archipelago ablaze for a week to come to an end, suspending the controversial text at the request of the separatists, according to them amounting to proving “terrorism” right. Deputies adopted last week in Paris a constitutional reform which aims to expand the electorate in the provincial elections of New Caledonia, a major local issue for the independence camp which fears being thus marginalized at the polls in the future .
“This text must continue, this text must continue its parliamentary route. The Versailles Congress (which must still meet before the end of June, Editor’s note) must neither be suspended nor canceled,” urged the non-independence deputy Renaissance de Nouvelle- Caledonia, Nicolas Metzdorf, during a press conference bringing together the loyalist camp in Nouméa. Those in favor of withdrawal “prove the thugs, the looters and the rioters right. In a democracy, violence never replaces the ballot box,” he declared.