French President Emmanuel Macron has decided not to prolong the state of emergency in New Caledonia to facilitate dialogue between pro-independence and pro-French unionists in this French overseas territory located in the South Pacific. The Elysée Palace announced in a statement that the lifting of the state of emergency will be effective from 8 p.m. this Monday (Paris time), which, given the time difference, corresponds to 5 a.m. on Tuesday in Noumea.
Macron made this decision three days after a lightning trip to this archipelago to try to find a way out of the crisis. After spending 17 hours in Noumea, the president was unable to restore calm and order to the archipelago. Although the state of emergency is lifted, other security measures remain in place: the curfew in force from 6pm to 6am throughout Caledonian territory and the ban on carrying and transporting weapons, gathering and selling alcohol, the High Commissioner announced. of the Republic of New Caledonia in a statement.
The state of emergency, in force in New Caledonia since May 15, can be declared in case of imminent danger resulting from serious violations of public order. It allows decreeing house arrests, closing public places or carrying out requisitions or administrative searches, according to French law.
Macron has decided to lift the state of emergency almost two weeks after it came into force to facilitate meetings of the different pro-independence groups and the movements of public representatives who may call for the lifting of the blockade points.
The head of state condemned the road blockades and looting and stressed that “this violence cannot pretend to be part of a legitimate political action.” The president recalled that the end of the blockades is “a necessary condition for the opening of concrete and serious negotiations.”
De-escalation
Macron expressed confidence in the ability of the Caledonian elected representatives to “reestablish dialogue” and appealed once again for de-escalation. “The more we let violence increase, the more there will be, every day, on each side, new good reasons to continue to be more violent,” Macron warned.
The president announced the sending of 450 more gendarmes to New Caledonia. France had so far mobilized 3,000 police and gendarmes to try to restore order. Since the riots began, 122 police and gendarmes have been injured and 450 people have been arrested, according to official data.
The last few hours have been marked by “a progressive return to normality”, according to the High Commissioner of the Republic of New Caledonia, although order has not yet been completely restored throughout the archipelago. Noumea-La Tontouta International Airport will remain closed to commercial flights until at least Sunday, June 2.
Unrest
Since May 13, New Caledonia has been the scene of riots, fires, looting, roadblocks and shootings, in which seven people have died, two of them gendarmes. Macron has sent mediators to Noumea to help elected representatives reach a global agreement.
The riots began coinciding with the debate in the French National Assembly of a constitutional reform to expand the electoral roll for provincial elections and include natives and residents who have been living in New Caledonia for more than ten years. Kanak independentists demand the withdrawal of the controversial electoral reform. They see in this constitutional reform a ploy by the French government to “further reduce” the voice of the native Kanak people and thus prevent Kanaky – as the independentists call New Caledonia – from one day becoming independent from France.
The census has been “frozen” for New Caledonia’s provincial elections since the 1998 Nouméa agreement and is limited to people eligible to vote at the time and their descendants. This prevents, according to the French government, almost one in five voters registered on the census for the general elections from voting, which the Executive considers unfair and undemocratic. Macron has pledged to freeze for now the enactment of the controversial electoral reform to allow pro-independence and pro-French leaders to reach a global agreement that satisfies both parties.
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