French Pacific island territory New Caledonia under curfew after unrest

Authorities in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia announced an overnight curfew and banned gatherings on Tuesday after violent unrest erupted in the capital of Noumea.

Authorities in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia announced an overnight curfew and banned gatherings on Tuesday after violent unrest erupted in the capital of Noumea. The territory's top French official Louis Le Franc said 35 police and gendarme troops were injured and 48 people have been arrested. No serious civilian casualties were reported, the high commissioner's statement said. It said Noumea was wracked by “high intensity” disturbances overnight Monday to Tuesday. Le Franc said numerous stores and video surveillance equipment were damaged. Schools were closed on Tuesday. French media reported that the unrest started with protests against voting reforms that French lawmakers are debating in Paris and which would increase the number of people who could cast ballots in New Caledonia. “Serious disturbances to public order are still underway” in Nouméa and surrounding municipalities, the High Commission of the Republic in New Caledonia said Tuesday. Internal security troops and civil security forces have been mobilized to intervene, it added. Gatherings on public roads and in public places have been prohibited in the municipalities of Nouméa, Dumbéa, Mont-Dore and Païta from Tuesday 6:00 pm local time and until Thursday 4:00 pm local time. All travel on public roads and in public places in the four municipalities has been banned from Tuesday afternoon until Wednesday morning, except for health and public emergencies.

New Caledonia's High Commissioner Louis Le Franc called for calm and “strict compliance with the measures taken to ensure the safety of the population.”