French authorities institute a state of emergency starting at 8 pm.
After violent demonstrations against a proposed electoral law revamp in New Caledonia, which resulted in four fatalities and numerous injuries, the French administration has enforced a state of emergency in the Pacific archipelago. This comes into effect at 8 p.m. (CEST), as per a government spokesperson, Prisca Thevenot, following a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Both sides advocating independence and opposing it insisted that the people remain composed.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal had scheduled an interministerial crisis conference in the evening to oversee execution. The state of emergency allows the government to have extra measures to maintain order, the spokesperson divulged. Such measures include restrictions on freedom of movement and authority to enforce house arrests.
French President Emmanuel Macron discontinued a scheduled Thursday visit to the Aton reactor in Flamanville, set to be operational, to arrange another emergency gathering. About 140 individuals have been detained by police in New Caledonia. Various structures have been set ablaze. Intelligence suggests that among the deceased is an officer wounded by a gunshot to the head.
A vast array of damaged and torched cars were found in the capital city of Nouméa. Looting and gunfires were witnessed. Supermarket lines were extensive. The airport is closed indefinitely. Approximately 1,800 law enforcement officers and gendarmes were mobilized on Wednesday. Additionally, 500 more reinforcing security troops from mainland France were sent. "Any form of violence is inacceptable and will be countered brusquely to restore civic control", the French presidential palace declared following an emergency gathering of the Defense and Security Council. Political discourse is to be reestablished.
The demonstrations were ignited by a constitutional reform accepted by the French National Assembly on Wednesday night by 351 votes to 153. The revision needs to be passed concurrently by both parliamentary chambers with a five-sixths majority to become law. Macron committed to the residents of New Caledonia in a letter that this would occur before the month's end. Under the new regulation, more residents will have the power to participate in provincial elections in New Caledonia. Earlier, only those who had lived in the overseas region for 25 years were granted such voting rights. In the future, this threshold will be reduced to ten years.
Advocates of independence from France, which colonized the archipelago in the mid-19th century, apprehend that this could diminish the authority of the indigenous populace. Approximately 300,000 inhabitants are present in the overseas territory. "This decision will significantly hamper our ability to administer New Caledonia," remarked Louis Mapou, head of the nearby bureaucracy, who endorses autonomy.
Attal, the country's leader, has promised to suggest a rendezvous with him and Darmanin, Minister of the Interior and Overseas Affairs, in Paris to actively seek a political solution. Backers and opponents of independence jointly released a statement on Wednesday, appealing for the populace to maintain "tranquility and reason."
Following the riots' initiation on Monday, the authorities in Nouméa imposed a nightly curfew from the previous evening, but the protesters went against this restriction.
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- UN vote urges Israel to ceasefire
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
- The state of emergency in New Caledonia, announced by French authorities, also includes the authorization for enforcing house arrests, as revealed by government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot.
- Despite the violent protests in New Caledonia resulting in fatalities and injuries, advocates on both sides of the independence issue urged the population to maintain composure and peace.
- French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and Minister of the Interior and Overseas Affairs Darmanin have pledged to meet with leaders from New Caledonia in Paris to seek a political solution, following the outbreak of protests against a proposed electoral law revamp.
Source: www.ntv.de
