Despite another evening marked by some riots in New Caledonia, the night from Thursday to Friday was “calmer and peaceful” for the first time in four days. The High Commissioner of the Republic indicates, however, that control of certain neighborhoods is no longer assured.
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- Violence is still observed in New Caledonia, but the night from Thursday to Friday was “calmer and peaceful” thanks to the state of emergency for the first time in four days, indicated Louis Le Franc, High Commissioner of the Republic, at a press conference.
- In Nouméa, the situation remains tense in several neighborhoods which are no longer under the control of the police and where “hundreds of rioters are awaiting contact with the police”.
- Five people have died since Monday and the start of the riots. The victims are three Kanak civilians and two gendarmes, one of the members of the police was the victim of an “accidental shooting” by one of his colleagues. The perpetrator of one of these homicides has surrendered, indicated the High Commissioner without providing further information.
- A new ministerial crisis unit chaired by Gabriel Attal is scheduled for this Friday at 8 a.m. and discussions between Emmanuel Macron and Caledonian elected officials are also expected according to the Elysée.
- Rationing measures have been put in place in businesses in New Caledonia, but supplies are planned and the High Commissioner assured that there was no risk of shortage.
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07:50 – “Control is no longer assured” in certain districts of Nouméa
Despite the return to calm observed in several places in the archipelago, “control is no longer assured” in certain districts of Nouméa according to the High Commissioner of the Republic. In these neighborhoods, “hundreds of rioters are awaiting contact with the police” added the state representative who assured that “reinforcements will arrive (…) to control the areas which have escaped in recent days.
07:45 – “A calmer and more peaceful situation” in New Caledonia
New Caledonia experienced another evening marked by violence from Thursday May 16 to Friday May 17. But Nouméa woke up in “a calmer and more peaceful situation” for the first time in four days according to the High Commissioner of the Republic on the archipelago, Louis Le Franc: “The state of emergency has made it possible, for the first time since Monday, to find a calmer and more peaceful situation in greater Nouméa, despite the fires of a school and two businesses.
05/16/24 – 11:42 p.m. – Gabriel Attal soon traveling to Nouméa?
END OF LIVE – At the end of his long interview given to The voice of the North on the situation in New Caledonia, the Prime Minister said he was ready to go there. “Obviously, I will respond to all the invitations made to me,” declared Gabriel Attal, without there being a date or meeting recorded to date.
05/16/24 – 11:30 p.m. – A “calmer and peaceful” situation in Nouméa during the night from Thursday to Friday
“The state of emergency has made it possible, for the first time since Monday, to return to a calmer and more peaceful situation in greater Nouméa, despite the fires in a school and two businesses,” indicated the High Commissioner of the Republic Louis Le Franc in a press release.
05/16/24 – 11:02 p.m. – Amount of damage in New Caledonia: 200 million euros
200 million euros. This is the amount of damage caused by the first three nights of riots in New Caledonia. A figure proposed by the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of the overseas territory. “The CCI has carried out damage assessment work based on the cost of construction, stock, operation. The damage is estimated at more than 200 million euros,” explained David Guyenne after a meeting with the executive.
16/05/24 – 22:18 – Jean-Luc Mélenchon denounces a return of “neocolonialism” in New Caledonia
Visiting Senegal, the founder of La France insoumise did not mince his words about the situation in New Caledonia. “170 years of relentlessness were not enough to defeat the Kanak will to once again become sovereign of its destiny and no one will ever succeed,” commented Jean-Luc Mélenchon. And to add: “There is no[autre] outcome of a colonial situation that decolonization and everything else is a waste of time.”
05/16/24 – 9:38 p.m. – The government, ready to withdraw the text of discord to ease tensions?
In an interview given to The voice of the North, the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, estimated that “dialogue can only take place in serenity and calm”, reaffirming that “the return to order and security for Caledonians is an absolute priority”. Asked about a possible withdrawal of the text in order to ease tensions, the head of government recalled that “the unfreezing of the electorate is a democratic issue requested by the Council of State. It is essential that the process succeeds”, before add: “But I cannot accept that this process ends in pain because I deeply believe in dialogue.”
05/16/24 – 8:47 p.m. – Marine Le Pen in favor of a new referendum in New Caledonia?
Guest of The Event on France 2 this Thursday evening, Marine Le Pen denounced “a real tragedy”, denouncing “a risk of civil war”. Asked about the idea of organizing a new referendum, she considered that it was an option. “Perhaps we need one more referendum, but it must be in 40 years, so that the State agrees to invest without taking the risk of seeing its investments lost,” declared Marine Le Pen.
05/16/24 – 8:01 p.m. – Beyond the riots and violence, residents faced with shortages in businesses
In Nouméa, in stores that were not looted or burned, the queues grew longer and the shelves emptied at high speed this Thursday. For his part, the High Commissioner of New Caledonia wanted to be reassuring. As reported The 1sthe affirmed at a press conference that “a boat [était] at the port of Nouméa” and included “47 containers of food products”. And to further assure: “Another will arrive [vendredi] with 56 containers of food products, also with medicines.” However, there was no unloading date planned for Thursday.
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The riots continue and the toll rises in New Caledonia. Four people have died since violence broke out on the archipelago, the Elysée announced on Wednesday May 15, following the defense and security council convened by Emmanuel Macron.
The violence and riots observed since Monday, May 13 in the Pacific territory have left hundreds injured according to Gérald Darmanin, including “around a hundred gendarmes who were evacuated while their gendarmerie was being attacked with axes and the “We were shooting at them with live ammunition” added the Minister of the Interior.
Macron establishes state of emergency in New Caledonia
Emmanuel Macron spoke with a handful of ministers for more than two hours this Wednesday morning during an urgently convened defense and security council. During the meeting, the head of state declared that “all violence is intolerable and will be the subject of an implacable response to ensure the return of republican order” according to the presidency and the triggering of the state of affairs. The emergency was probably at the heart of the conversations: “The President of the Republic requested that the decree aimed at declaring a state of emergency in New Caledonia be included on the agenda of the Council of Ministers which will meet at 4:30 p.m. ” announced the Élysée in a press release.
Indeed, Emmanuel Macron decided to trigger a state of emergency in New Caledonia following the defense and security council organized on Wednesday morning. “Violence is never tolerable or justifiable under any circumstances. I want to salute all the security forces involved. The priority is to regain order, calm and serenity” he added during his speaking in the hemicycle.
The Head of State reiterates his call for calm to the inhabitants of New Caledonia, but also to local elected officials. The latter, whether separatists or loyalists, also called for “calm and reason” in a joint declaration. Both the government and local elected officials are encouraging the resumption of discussions on the constitutional reform, the adoption of which ignited the powder. “The President of the Republic recalled the need for a resumption of political dialogue and asked the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territories to quickly invite the Caledonian delegations to Paris,” he also said. know the press release from the Elysée.
The High Commissioner of the Republic evokes an “insurrectional” situation
The authorities fear the continuation and above all an amplification of violence. “I let you imagine what will happen if militias start shooting at armed people,” declared Louis Le Franc, the high commissioner of the Republic, who describes the situation as “insurrectional”. Several “exchanges of buckshot between rioters and civil defense groups in Nouméa and Paita” and an “attempted intrusion into the Saint Michel brigade” were recorded.
The tensions and violence affecting the archipelago were revived by the vote of the National Assembly having adopted the constitutional reform which aims to expand the local electoral body. A text highly contested by elected Caledonian separatists. Some of them are calling for the text to be withdrawn, judging that calm cannot return as long as the reform in its current version is in the pipeline.
206 arrests in Nouméa
At least 206 arrests took place in Nouméa and elsewhere in New Caledonia between Monday and Thursday according to the High Commissioner of the Republic. 1,800 police officers and gendarmes are on site according to the Ministry of the Interior and 500 other members of the police will be deployed in the coming hours.
Schools “will remain closed until further notice” specifies the vice-rectorate of New Caledonia. Tontoura airport remains closed to commercial flights for the time being. “The situation is not serious, it is very serious. If the call for calm is not heard, there will be many deaths in the Nouméa metropolitan area today. We have entered a spiral dangerous, a mortal spiral” regretted Louis Le Franc during a press conference.