NOUMEA
\nFrench Pacific territory New Caledonia was \u201cunder siege\u201d Saturday, the mayor of its capital Noumea said, after another person was killed, bringing the toll to six in six days of unrest.
\nTwo other men were wounded in Saturday\u2019s deadly incident, which occurred in the archipelago\u2019s northern Kaala-Gomen area, General Nicolas Mattheos said.
\nHundreds of heavily armed French soldiers and police patrolled the debris-filled streets of Noumea Saturday.
\nBut Philippe Blaise, vice president of the territory\u2019s southern province, said: \u201cToday, the rule of law, security for citizens, are not back in place everywhere in (New) Caledonia.\u201d
\nAnd Noumea mayor Sonia Lagarde told news channel BFMTV: \u201cWe\u2019re far from getting back to calm.\u201d
\nAnger is still high over a contested voting reform, even after the arrival of hundreds of military and police reinforcements.
\nAFP reporters in the city\u2019s Magenta district saw vehicles and buildings torched, with riot police on the scene trying to reassert control.
\nOvernight, residents reported hearing gunfire, helicopters and \u201cmassive explosions\u201d \u2014 seemingly gas canisters blowing up inside a burning building.
\nFor days, Helene, 42, has been guarding makeshift barricades in shifts with neighbors as they waited for hundreds of French security forces to be flown in to restore order.
\n\u201cAt night we hear shooting and things going off,\u201d she told AFP. \u201cHelicopters and military planes landing \u2014 which is sweet music to our ears.\u201d
\nEconomic malaise
\nFor almost a week, the usually calm oceanside city has been convulsed with violence.
\nTwo gendarmes and three other people, Indigenous Kanaks, have also been killed.
\nThe unrest has been blamed on economic malaise, social tensions and \u2014 above all \u2014 a political fight between mostly Indigenous pro-independence activists and Paris authorities.
\nFrench officials have accused a separatist group known as the CCAT of being behind the riots and have placed 10 of its activists under house arrest.
\nCCAT on Friday called for \u201ca time of calm to break the spiral of violence.\u201d
\nAnnie, an 81-year-old Noumea resident, said the week\u2019s violence had been worse than that seen during the tumultuous 1980s: a time of political killings and hostage-taking referred to as \u201cThe Events.\u201d
\n\u201cAt the time, there weren\u2019t as many weapons,\u201d she said.
\nSeeking independence
\nNew Caledonia has been a French territory since the mid-1800s.
\nAlmost two centuries on, its politics remains dominated by debate about whether the islands should be part of France, autonomous or independent \u2014 with opinions split roughly along ethnic lines.
\nThe latest cycle of violence was sparked by plans in Paris to impose new voting rules that could give tens of thousands of non-Indigenous residents voting rights.
\nPro-independence groups say that would dilute the vote of Indigenous Kanaks, who make up about 40 percent of the population.
\nFrench authorities have called for talks and insist the situation is now \u201ccalmer\u201d and being brought under control.
\nAround 1,000 security forces began reinforcing the 1,700 officers on the ground from Thursday.
\nEfforts to negotiate peace have so far stumbled, although French President Emmanuel Macron had begun contacting pro- and anti-independence officials individually on Friday, his office said.
\n\u2018Azerbaijani actors\u2019
\nA local business group estimated the damage, concentrated around Noumea, at 200 million euros ($217 million).
\nThe damage to the islands\u2019 reputation may cost even more.
\nTourism is a big earner for New Caledonia, but an estimated 3,200 tourists and other travelers have been stranded inside or outside the archipelago by the closure of Noumea\u2019s international airport.
\nThe unrest has also pushed organizers to cancel plans to bring the Olympic flame through New Caledonia on its journey from Athens to Paris \u2014 where the summer Games will begin in late July.
\n\u201cI think everyone understands, given the current context, the priority is consolidating a return to public order and then appeasement,\u201d French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said on Saturday.
\nOn Friday, French government agency Viginum said it detected a \u201cmassive and coordinated\u201d online campaign pushing claims that French police had shot pro-independence demonstrators in New Caledonia.
\nParis pointed to the involvement of \u201cAzerbaijani actors\u201d in the campaign, deepening a diplomatic spat between the two countries.
\nAzerbaijan has denied accusations of interference in New Caledonia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NOUMEA French Pacific territory New Caledonia was \u201cunder siege\u201d Saturday, the mayor of its capital Noumea said, after another person was killed, bringing the toll to six in six days of unrest. Two other men were wounded in Saturday\u2019s deadly incident, which occurred in the archipelago\u2019s northern Kaala-Gomen area, General Nicolas Mattheos said. Hundreds of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-408094","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n