A new outbreak of violence gripped the French Pacific last night Archipelago New Caledonia, rredade France Press. The night was "unsettled and marked by disturbances throughout the main island and on the islands of Pins and Mare, necessitating the intervention of numerous reinforcements," the High Commission, representing the French government in the archipelago, said in a statement. There have been attacks against law enforcement, arson and blockades, BTA quoted.
The fresh rise in tensions came after several Caledonian separatists, including Christian Thein, head of the Cell for the Coordination of Field Actions (CCTC), suspected of masterminding the riots, were transferred to mainland France on Saturday night to be sent to prison.
In Doumbeya, north of the main city of New Caledonia - Noumea, local police buildings and a garage were set on fire. According to an AFP journalist, four armored vehicles were deployed.
The collisions took place near a car repair shop, where the cars were set on fire.
Four hooded activists, standing behind improvised barricades, threw projectiles at the police and shouted insults at them, reports an AFP journalist.
Separatists demanding the release of the prisoners are camped out near a large sports equipment store in the area, which has been completely destroyed, in the early afternoon today.
In Bourail, a town less than 200km north of Noumea, there were also clashes between police and separatists, which left one person injured, AFP has learned.
Separatists are also violent elsewhere in the archipelago. The road to the airport was blocked due to a police operation. Many schools were also closed and the expressway to the hospital was blocked on both sides.
Since May 13, the South Pacific archipelago has been gripped by violent unrest sparked by protests against an election bill. The violence left nine people dead, including two gendarmes, and caused massive damage estimated at over one billion euros. In mid-June, President Emmanuel Macron suspended a bill that would have envisaged a constitutional reform changing the electoral criteria for elections in the New Caledonian provinces. According to his opponents, he would reduce the political influence of the indigenous population of the archipelago.