French police trying to restore order in the island territory of New Caledonia after days of deadly unrest have cleared dozens of barricades that had been blocking the main road linking the airport to the capital, Noumea, a French official said on Sunday.
Archived version: https://archive.ph/MjB3s
You should be aware that the people who have been rioting and burning are French citizens, but they are actually the local people of New Caledonia, known as Kanaks. There have been three referenda to decide whether the island should declare independence from France, all of which failed. The separatists, after losing three times, have been trained and assisted by Azerbaijan, who are angry at France’s support of Armenia.
Source: I have a family member on New Caledonia.
That’s partially correct. The first 2 referendums were lost by a few %, and the last was boycotted since it was held during the pandemic and when Kanaks asked to delay it since it would disproportionately affect them, France refused. France will do anything not to lose the territory, since it’s strategically important to them.
The whole point of the new voting law they are protesting is that any subsequent vote would be stacked in France’s favor, since local population is already diluted to around 50%.