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State of emergency lifted in New Caledonia

France on Tuesday lifted a state of emergency in its Pacific territory of New Caledonia but is maintaining a curfew and sending hundreds of paramilitary reinforcements after two weeks of unrest in which seven people died and hundreds were injured.

Published: 28 May 2024 08:08 CEST
State of emergency lifted in New Caledonia
This picture shows a barricade leading to a residential district in Noumea, France's Pacific territory of New Caledonia, on May 24, 2024. (Photo by Theo Rouby / AFP)

The French presidency said restrictions had been eased to let the main pro-independence FLNKS party hold meetings and for local representatives to try to get road barricades removed.

Paris enforced the state of emergency after riots erupted over French plans to reform voting rights in the territory. Several hundred police and military reinforcements have already been sent to New Caledonia.

Authorities said another 480 paramilitary gendarmes would leave France for the territory “within hours”. A night curfew from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am and a ban on alcohol sales will remain, the French government office in New Caledonia said.

While the archipelago has been quieter, some disturbances were reported in Vallee-du-Tir district of the main city Noumea. There have been nearly 500 arrests since the unrest started.

Long queues of traffic have built up in daylight hours but many roads, including to the international airport, are still closed with hundreds of burned out cars. The airport is to remain closed until June 2. Authorities said 600 police would be used to clear access to the Medipole hospital.

The lifting of the blockades is “the necessary condition for the opening of concrete and serious negotiations”, the French presidency said in a statement, which announced the lifting of the state of emergency from 5 am Tuesday (local time).

President Emmanuel Macron flew to the Pacific archipelago on Thursday in a bid to defuse the crisis.

The first French tourists were evacuated Saturday from Noumea aboard military aircraft headed for Australia and New Zealand. Australia and New Zealand had already begun repatriating their nationals on Tuesday.

In total, around 3,500 troops have been deployed to the archipelago, where two police have died.

Possible referendum

New Caledonia has been ruled from Paris since the 1800s, but many indigenous Kanaks resent France’s power over their islands and want fuller autonomy or independence.

France is planning to give voting rights to thousands of non-indigenous long-term residents, something Kanaks say would dilute the influence of their votes.

Macron pledged during his lightning trip to New Caledonia that the planned voting reforms “will not be forced through”.

“Violence should never be allowed to take root,” Macron said at the end of his visit.

The CCAT pro-independence group organising the protests has not called off the roadblocks but offered to ease the chaos so that fuel and medicines could be delivered.

The FLNKS party reiterated on Saturday its demand for the withdrawal of the voting reforms after meeting with Macron.

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FRENCH ELECTIONS

French elections: What next after first round of voting?

Sunday, June 30th sees the first round of voting in France's extremely dramatic snap elections - but this is only half the story. Here's a look at what happens next.

Published: 30 June 2024 08:08 CEST
French elections: What next after first round of voting?

Two-round voting

Voters in France go to the polls twice, meaning that the voting of June 30th is only the first phase, with a second round required if no candidate polls more than 50 percent in the opening round.

In this election the first and second rounds are just one week apart – voters will return on Sunday, July 7th and make their choice between the second-round candidates. Votes are not carried forward between the rounds, meaning that July 7th is a blank slate.

While most areas will have a choice of around eight candidates in round one, only the highest scorers go through to round two.

The two highest scorers from round one go through, along with any other candidate who gets more than 12.5 percent of the total votes cast. In most areas, round two is a two-horse race, but in some places there are three-way or even four-way contests.

READ ALSO How does France’s two round voting system work?

There are also some places that don’t have a second at all – if one candidate wins more than 50 percent of the votes cast in round one (and if that also makes up more than 25 percent of the registered voters in that area) then they win outright and no second round is held.

This is rare but it does happen at parliamentary election level – it has never happened during a presidential election – so there will likely be a few constituencies that have no second round.

First round results 

Therefore the results of round one in most cases will tell us only who will be the candidates for each area in round two – not who has or will win.

That’s still pretty significant though, especially in these elections where it is predicted that many Macronist candidates will be knocked out in the first round.

The seats with a second-round contest between a candidate from the far-right Rassemblement National and the left alliance Nouveau Front Populaire will be the ones that all eyes are upon.

France’s most experienced pollsters admit that predicting which way voters will go in a choice between an RN or NPF candidate is tough – although that doesn’t mean that many people won’t try to make that calculation over the next week.

Faire un barrage

Typically in French elections, the defeated parties will urge their supporters to vote for one side or the other in the second round.

That’s usually even more the case when a far-right candidate is still involved – parties will call on voters to Faire un barrage (make a roadblock) against the far right, or invoke Le Front républicain, the term for when parties unite across the political divide to combat the far-right.

However, having called this election as a referendum on the far-right, Emmanuel Macron and many of his ministers have spent the campaign referring to both RN and NPF as ‘les extremes‘ and saying both pose a threat to the country.

Will the Macronists take part in the Front républicain in seats where they have been defeated? Time will tell.

Voters who find the second-round choices unpalatable have the option of abstaining (which is why turnout will be carefully monitored) or casting a ‘vote blanc‘ – a blank ballot paper – to express their opposition.

Round two

Round two of voting takes place on Sunday, July 7th and – like round one – provisional results will be released at 8pm.

A party needs a minimum of 289 seats to get an overall majority in parliament – any party that gets this number will be able to put forward their candidate for prime minister. If it is either RN or NPF, that prime minister will then enter a cohabitation with Emmanuel Macron – who remains president whatever the results are.

If no-one gets 289 seats, then we’re in for messy and protracted negotiations.

The most likely scenarios are either a coalition or some kind of ‘government of national unity’ headed by figures from outside politics.

Coalition, resignation of unity government? The possible outcomes of France’s snap elections

Truthfully, however, no-one really knows since this has never happened since the start of the Fifth Republic in 1958. We’re entering uncharted waters . . .

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