Smoke rises in Nouméa, New Caledonia, on May 14, 2024. The population was confined to their homes on the evening of Tuesday, May 14 in Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia, after a night of violence. The curfew complicates the daily lives of many workers, as only those “performing a public service mission” are allowed to move around, along with law enforcement and emergency services. Some people were still out on the streets before the curfew, searching for the few remaining open stores for supplies.
Following the curfew at 6 p.m. local time, young people could be seen with arms full of looted goods from businesses in Dumbéa, in the northern suburb of Nouméa, where a butcher shop was burned down earlier in the day. In the metropolitan area, cries and explosions were constant. As night fell, the acts of vandalism escalated. A large sports store in the suburbs of Nouméa was looted, according to an AFP correspondent. Stores were looted, houses were set on fire, and shots were fired at the gendarmes in extremely violent clashes that shook the French archipelago in the Pacific.
The clashes occurred as the French National Assembly in Paris discussed a controversial constitutional revision that would expand the electoral body for provincial elections, which are crucial in the South Pacific archipelago. The independence activists fear that this expansion could further marginalize the Kanak indigenous people. Due to concerns of escalating violence, special forces, including the GIGN, the police equivalent of RAID, four squadrons of mobile gendarmes, and two sections of CRS 8, a specialized unit in combating urban violence, were deployed.
Despite the curfew, a group of men gathered outside their homes on Tuesday to protect them and prevent the looting of a nearby grocery store. “We are out despite the curfew, we put out the fires around the roundabout, our houses are all close,” one of them stated. He expressed the difficulty of the situation and the uncertainty of whether the electoral reform would pass or not. Images of burning businesses circulating on social media raised concerns about the already fragile economy in New Caledonia. The Minister of the Interior reported 82 arrests in the past two days.
During a parliamentary session, Gabriel Attal urged political leaders in New Caledonia to engage in dialogue and emphasized the importance of peace and a shared political solution. He mentioned that the Congress of Parliament would not be immediately convened after the vote on the controversial constitutional law, allowing time for discussions. The focus is on fostering dialogue and finding common ground to address the current unrest and find a peaceful resolution. The situation remains tense, with uncertainty surrounding the future developments in New Caledonia.
