France has declared a state of emergency on the Pacific island of New Caledonia after three young Indigenous Kanaks and a police official were killed in riots over electoral reform.
The state of emergency, which entered into force at 5am local time, gives authorities additional powers to ban gatherings and forbid people from moving around the French-ruled island.
Rioting broke out over a new bill, adopted by MPs in Paris on Tuesday, that will let French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years vote in provincial elections - a move some local leaders fear will dilute the Kanak vote.
French gendarme officers guard the entrance of the Vallee-du-Tir district. Source: AFP / Theo Rouby/AFP via Getty Images
Authorities also decided to ban video app TikTok, which the government said helped rioters organise during a bout of riots on France's mainland recently.
France accused of diluting Kanak self-determination
Electoral reform is the latest flashpoint in a decades-long tussle over France's role in the mineral-rich island, which lies in the southwest Pacific, 1500km east of Australia.
France annexed the island in 1853 and gave the colony the status of overseas territory in 1946.
It has long been rocked by pro-independence movements.
People are seen waving the flag of New Caledonia during May Day rallies in Paris, France as they demand rights for the Kanak indigenous people. Credit: Remon Haazen/Getty Images
"Politicians have a huge share of responsibility," said 30-year-old Henri, who works in a hotel in Noumea.
Loyalist politicians, who are descendents of colonialists, say colonisation is over but Kanak politicians don't agree. There are huge economic disparities
Pro-independence political group Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS), of the New Caladonia congress, have recently signed a "Memorandum of Cooperation" with the National Assembly of Azerbaijan in attempts to reduce French control of the island, and create new ties to strengthen support for Kanak.
The move, which was signed last month, added to the tensions with pro-France members of congress calling the move "shameful" and "inappropriate", according to media outlet RNZ.
A number of protesters on the ground have been flying the Azerbaijani flag, as a display of anti-French control.
Azerbaijani flags are be flown by Kanak protesters Credit: X (formerly Twitter) user @BabakTaghvaee1
Where to now?
New Caledonia's high commissioner said on May 14 that shots had been fired at security forces during a night of riots in the French Pacific territory that saw vehicles torched and shops looted. Source: AFP / Delphine Mayeur/AFP via Getty Images
The French government has said the change in voting rules was needed so elections would be democratic.
But it said it would not rush calling a special congress of the two houses of parliament to rubber-stamp the bill and has invited pro- and anti-independence camps for talks in Paris on the future of the island, opening the door to a potential suspension of the bill.
FLNKS, who condemned the violence, said it would accept the offer of dialogue and was willing to work towards an agreement "that would allow New Caledonia to follow its path toward emancipation".
Witness Garrido Navarro Kherachi said she moved to New Caledonia when she was eight years old, and has never been back to France.
Although eligible to vote under the new rules, she says she won't "out of respect for the Kanak people".
"I don't feel I know enough about the history of Caledonia and the struggle of the Kanak people to allow me to vote," she said.
