It is a fragile return to calm in New Caledonia. The main roads have been cleared of most of the blockades which prevented traffic and, even if there are still clashes between the police and opponents of the reform of the electoral body, the situation in the territory, where the he state of emergency ended at dawn this Tuesday morning, May 28, has clearly improved.
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With our correspondent in Nouméa, Charlotte Mannevy
The construction equipment sweeper in charge of clearing has now taken over in New Caledoniaunder good police escort, law enforcement convoys.
For several days, the clashes have been clearly decreasing and strategic sites such as the hospital and fuel depots have become accessible again.
The fact remains that the end of the state of emergency has not changed much in the daily lives of Caledonians, the curfew remains in force as does the ban on the sale of alcohol and the transport of weapons.
Read alsoNew Caledonia: state of emergency lifted Tuesday morning, relative calm in the archipelago
A mobilization that continues
As for the queues in front of the stores, they are only reducing very slowly, the supply of the capital being done in dribs and drabs.
And if the mobilization against the reform of the electoral body seems to be running out of steam in the face of the more than 3,000 soldiers, police and gendarmes deployed, it is far from over. The separatists have called on their activists to loosen the grip but are still demanding the withdrawal of the text.
In the bush, many roadblocks are still active, and access to mining centers, a key sector of the territory’s economy, is still blocked.
Read alsoNew Caledonia: Emmanuel Macron says he is ready for a referendum on the contested reform of the electoral body