Police in riot-hit New Caledonia shoot man dead after Macron visit
- The officer used his gun as he and a colleague were attacked by around 15 people before the shot was fired, local media said, quoting the local prosecutor’s office
- The latest fatality was a blow to hopes for calm after Macron’s visit, which some officials had seen as heralding an end to more than a week of violence
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A policeman in riot-hit New Caledonia killed a man on Friday after being attacked by protesters, as President Emmanuel Macron warned against the French Pacific territory turning into a new “Wild West.”
The latest fatality was a blow to hopes for calm after Macron’s visit, which some officials had seen as heralding an end to more than a week of violence that has now killed seven people.
Macron flew on Thursday to the southwest Pacific archipelago, located some 17,000 kilometres (10,600 miles) from mainland France, in an urgent bid to defuse a swelling political crisis over voting reform.
The killing of a 48-year-old man by police on Friday took the death toll from the unrest to seven, including two gendarmes.
This was the first time that a civilian had been killed by a member of law enforcement since riots broke out on May 13.
A police officer and his colleague were “physically attacked by a group of around 15 individuals” in Dumbea just outside the capital Noumea, forcing him to draw his weapon, said prosecutor Yves Dupas.
“In circumstances that have yet to be determined, the officer is said to have fired a shot from his service weapon to extricate himself from the physical altercation,” Dupas said in a statement.
“Initial findings show traces of blows to the officers’ faces,” the statement said.
The officer who fired the shots was taken into custody, the prosecutor said, adding that a probe into voluntary manslaughter by a person in authority was launched. Such legal moves are usually automatic in France when a policeman kills an individual.
France has enforced a state of emergency, flying hundreds of police and military reinforcements to restore order in the territory which lies between Australia and Fiji.
The deadliest violence in four decades erupted over a French voting reform plan that indigenous Kanaks say will dilute their voice.
“Violence should never be allowed to take root,” Macron said during a televised interview with local journalists at the end of his lightning visit. “What I want is a message of order and return to calm, as this is not the Wild West,” he said.
Using the English words “Far West” in French, Macron was referring to the western American frontier lands that were the last territories to be absorbed into the United States during its expansion in the 19th century.
“In France, it’s not for everyone to defend themselves. There is a Republican order assured by the security forces,” he said.
04:58
‘It’s a civil war’: French New Caledonia declares state of emergency amid pro-independence protests
“A path must be opened for the calming of tensions, and this will allow us to build what happens next.”
He said that all roadblocks should be “immediately” removed.
New Caledonia has been ruled from Paris since the 1800s, but many Indigenous Kanaks still resent France’s power over their islands and want fuller autonomy or independence.
France had planned to give voting rights to thousands of non-indigenous long-term residents, a move Kanaks say would dilute the influence of their votes.
Macron conceded more talks were needed on the voting changes, and pledged they would “not be forced through in the current context”.
“We will allow some weeks to allow a calming of tensions and resumption of dialogue to find a broad accord” among all parties, he added, saying he would review the situation again within a month.
Caledonians would be asked to vote on their future if leaders can reach an overarching agreement, Macron said. The French parliament’s lower house had approved the voting reform, but final ratification was still needed.
Additional reporting by Reuters
