This Friday, the dialogue between the Caledonian separatists and the government seems to have broken down. New riots are greatly feared in the face of the threat of repression looming over Nouméa. The Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti spoke this morning of “firmness and speed” so that “republican order is restored”.
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 an ax and the “We were shooting at them with live ammunition” added the Minister of the Interior.
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 constitutional reform, the adoption of which ignited the situation. “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 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 reignited by the vote of the National Assembly having adopted the constitutional reform which aims to expand the local electorate. 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.
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.
