The riots in New Caledonia have already left four dead since Monday, including a police officer. While more than 200 arrests have taken place since the start of the riots, Emmanuel Macron is holding a new defense council this Thursday at 11 a.m. to try to put an end to the violence.
The essential
- The violent riots continued in New Caledonia during the night of Wednesday May 15 to Thursday May 16, after the first altercations that occurred on Monday, on the sidelines of an independence mobilization.
- Four people died during the riots. The Élysée announced the death of three people this Wednesday, while a gendarme seriously injured by gunfire died after succumbing to his injuries.
- The state of emergency came into force on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Paris time or Thursday at 5 a.m. in Nouméa, for a period of 12 days.
- Emmanuel Macron convened a defense council this Thursday morning at 11 a.m. at the Elysée, just after a new crisis meeting supervised by the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, scheduled for 8:30 a.m.
- 70 new arrests took place in the last 24 hours. According to Louis Le Franc, High Commissioner of the Republic, no fewer than 64 gendarmes and police officers have been injured and nearly 200 rioters have been arrested since the riots began on Monday.
- Wednesday evening, Paris time, Gabriel Attal announced the deployment of the army to secure the ports and airport of New Caledonia, and announced that the high commissioner in this territory had declared “a curfew and prohibited TikTok.”
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07:54 – New defense council at 11 a.m.
The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron will hold a defense council this Thursday morning in Paris at around 11 a.m. The latter also proposed to Caledonian elected officials to have an “exchange by videoconference” on Thursday, at the end of this crisis meeting at the Elysée. “The Head of State will chair a defense and national security council on the situation in New Caledonia on Thursday at 11:00 a.m.,” indicates the presidency.
05/15/24 – 11:43 p.m. – The crisis far from being resolved? Several summit meetings organized again on Thursday
END OF LIVE – Prime Minister Gabriel Attal will again hold a crisis meeting on New Caledonia Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. And according to information from BFMTV, it seems that Emmanuel Macron will chair a new defense council from the Élysée at 11 a.m.
05/15/24 – 11:02 p.m. – “The situation is not calm” in Nouméa
Speaking to BFMTV this Wednesday evening, the former Secretary of State for Citizenship and anti-independence figure in New Caledonia, Sonia Backès, affirmed that “the situation has not calmed down”. And to affirm: “It’s still shooting in certain places in the city.” During the night from Wednesday to Thursday, many houses and businesses were set on fire again, according to her.
15/05/24 – 22:16 – Five house arrests and first administrative searches
On “I have just signed the first five house arrest orders for radical and violent leaders,” he announced, adding that, “on [s]”On investigation, administrative searches will be carried out by the police immediately.”
05/15/24 – 9:36 p.m. – First two house arrests recorded
Thanks to the state of emergency in place since 8 p.m. this Wednesday evening, Paris time, two first house arrests were signed by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin. The people concerned are two radical separatists, reports BFMTV.
05/15/24 – 8:46 p.m. – Gabriel Attal makes new announcements
The Prime Minister, who has chaired an interministerial crisis unit since 8 p.m., announced Wednesday evening the deployment of the army. It will be responsible for securing the ports as well as the airport. Gabriel Attal also announced that the social network Tik Tok was going to be banned.
05/15/24 – 8:12 p.m. – Emmanuel Macron postpones his trip to Flamanville on Thursday to chair a new meeting
According to information from BFMTV, the President of the Republic, who was initially scheduled to go to the Flamanville EPR site this Thursday, will remain in Paris to chair a meeting to monitor the situation in New Caledonia.
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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.
200 arrests in Nouméa
At least 200 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.