France deploys troops to New Caledonia

NOUMEA, France (AFP) — France deployed troops to New Caledonia’s ports and international airport, banned TikTok in the islands and imposed a state of emergency on Thursday after three nights of clashes that have left four dead and hundreds wounded.

Pro-independence, largely indigenous protests against a French plan to impose new voting rules on its Pacific archipelago have spiralled into the deadliest violence since the 1980s, with a police officer among several killed by gunfire.

Palm-lined boulevards, usually thronged with tourists, were littered with debris and patrolled by armored vehicles, while some fearful locals piled up household objects to make roadblocks.

Security forces place five suspected ringleaders under house arrest.

There was a suspected arson attack on the building housing a consultative body for the indigenous Kanak people, its communications staff said, although the extent of the damage was not immediately clear.

As part of a sweeping French response, security forces placed five suspected ringleaders under house arrest, according to a statement by the high commission, which represents the French state in New Caledonia.

House searches would be carried out “in the coming hours,” it said.

More than 200 “rioters” have been arrested since the clashes broke out, the high commission said, numbering participants at up to 5,000 in greater Noumea.

It added that “people have been ambushing law enforcement officers” with “sustained fire from hunting rifles.”

Hundreds of people, including 64 police, have been wounded, officials said, among the territory’s population of around 270,000.