after the riots, the first convictions

In Dumbéa, New Caledonia, a man was seriously injured by a member of the GIGN. He would have previously fired towards the elite gendarmes. Three other people were arrested for stone throwing. The first convictions took place. All the defendants are suspected of having stoned, looted or attacked the police. Immediate appearances make it possible to identify the profile of the rioters. “There are some who died in our country, that’s why we put the roadblocks back in place,” says a defendant during his hearing. “I only threw a bottle on the road, to test their reaction”shouts another defendant.

But according to their lawyer, Maître Anne-Lise Lebreton, these defendants were remotely controlled. “What I hear is that we are asking them to build filter barriers. In any case, what is certain is that there are messages that have been passed around in the neighborhoods”, assures the lawyer. If the hearings with the rioters follow one another, the prosecution also investigates the sponsors. 519 police detentions have taken place since the start of the violence. Some have already been tried in immediate appearance. 88 people have already been referred.