French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday pushed on a visit to riot-hit New Caledonia for the removal of protesters’ barricades and said police sent in to help battle deadly unrest in the French Pacific archipelago “will stay as long as necessary,” even as security services back in France focus in coming weeks on safeguarding the Paris Olympics.
By canceling his previously announced schedule to fly across the globe from Paris to New Caledonia, Macron brought the weight of his office to bear on the crisis, which has left six dead and a trail of destruction on the archipelago where indigenous Kanak people have long sought independence from France.
Pro-independence Kanak leaders, who a week earlier declined Macron’s offer of talks by video, joined a meeting with the French leader hosted in the capital, Noumea, with rival pro-Paris leaders who want New Caledonia, which became French in 1853 under Napoleon III, to remain part of France.
Photo: AFP
Macron urged local leaders to use their clout to help restore order. He said a state of emergency imposed by Paris for at least 12 days on Wednesday last week to boost police powers could only be lifted if local leaders call for a clearing away of barricades that demonstrators and people trying to protect their neighborhoods have erected in Noumea and beyond.
The unrest continued to simmer as Macron jetted in, despite a 6pm to 6am curfew and more than 1,000 reinforcements for the archipelago’s police and gendarmes, now 3,000 strong.
“I will be very clear here. These forces will remain as long as necessary. Even during the Olympic Games and Paralympics,” Macron said.
At La Tontouta International Airport in Noumea, which remains closed to commercial flights, Macron on arrival said that he wanted “to be alongside the people and see a return to peace, calm and security as soon as possible.”
Later, at Noumea’s central police station, Macron thanked officers for facing what he described as “an absolutely unprecedented insurrection movement.”
“No one saw it coming with this level of organization and violence,” he said. “You did your duty, and I thank you.”
Macron flew to the archipelago under pressure from politicians in France and pro-independence supporters to delay or scrap the overhaul of the voting system for New Caledonia which triggered the unrest. It would enlarge voter numbers in provincial elections for New Caledonia’s legislature and government, adding about 25,000 voters, including people who have been residents of the archipelago for at least 10 years and others born there.
Opponents fear the measure would benefit pro-France politicians in New Caledonia and further marginalize the Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination.
Supporters say the proposed overhaul is democratically important for people with roots in New Caledonia who cannot currently vote for local representatives.
Macron in the past has facilitated dialogue between the divided pro and anti-independence camps. France’s efforts included three referendums from 2018 to 2021 which asked voters if they wanted independence. They voted no each time, but the last referendum in 2021 was boycotted by pro-independence forces.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
RSS