French President Emmanuel Macron is on his way to New Caledonia on Wednesday, more than a week after the start of unprecedented violence in 40 years in the French archipelago in the South Pacific, where schools and vehicles were burned overnight.
At the end of a journey of more than 17,000 km, the Head of State must land Thursday morning in local time in the French territory of the South Pacific, in particular to set up a “mission” there, the door said without further details. -government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot.
Mr. Macron must in particular meet with elected officials and economic players in the archipelago, where the violence and destruction have plunged into a catastrophic situation.
On the ground, the separatists have already announced the establishment of committees to welcome the president, with reinforced roadblocks in certain areas.
Unprecedented cyberattack
This surprise visit comes at a time when, even in the majority of President Macron, requests to postpone the draft constitutional law on the electorate of the archipelago, rejected by the separatists and at the origin of the riots, are increasing.
In the archipelago, the night from Tuesday to Wednesday “was calmer than the previous one despite two fires in the Nouméa metropolitan area,” reported the High Commission of the Republic.
According to the municipality of Nouméa, interviewed by AFP, two schools and 300 vehicles from a dealership went up in smoke.
“Very shortly after the announcement” of the presidential visit, New Caledonia was also targeted by a cyberattack “of unprecedented force”, announced Christopher Gygès, member of the Caledonian collegial government.
The attack, consisting of the simultaneous sending of “millions ofemails “, was stopped “before there was significant damage”, he assured.
“I believe that there are a lot of structures that have been affected, banks etc. », nevertheless clarified the mayor of Nouméa, Sonia Lagarde.
” Good news “
Nine days after the start of the most serious violence affecting the archipelago in almost forty years, the situation remains precarious and entire neighborhoods still difficult to access.
In a wealthy neighborhood in the south of Nouméa spared by the riots, Jean, 57, has been occupying a barricade with his neighbors for a week intended to prevent possible intrusions.
The arrival of the president is “good news”, he believes. “The situation is completely blocked, we must hope that this will allow people to calm down, that a way out will be found. »
On a dam in Dumbéa, a separatist stronghold west of Nouméa, Mike, 52, is also delighted that “Macron is arriving to see what is happening”.
“We remain in the opposition,” he hastens to add. “I don’t understand why our fate has to be discussed by people who don’t even live here.”
Six dead
On Wednesday morning, fires were visible in several points in the Nouméa metropolitan area, noted an AFP journalist.
It is “much too early” to make an overall assessment of the damage, because there are still neighborhoods where the agents do not go, the administration of the city of Nouméa explained to AFP.
The High Commission indicated that “more than 90 dams have already been neutralized and are gradually being cleaned.”
“It’s not settled. It is extremely complicated for law enforcement who are doing their job. […] They clear the dams, but the dams are raised one after the other,” lamented the mayor of Nouméa.
Since the start of the violence, six people have been killed, including two mobile gendarmes.
Some 84 police officers and gendarmes were also injured, according to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
The police made nearly 300 arrests, according to the Nouméa prosecutor, Yves Dupas.
A sign of the difficulty in getting the security situation under control, the archipelago’s international airport will remain closed to commercial flights until Saturday morning.
Around a hundred Australian and New Zealand nationals were evacuated from New Caledonia on “flights chartered by their authorities”, according to the High Commission.
Postponement of the reform?
The exceptional state of emergency measures are maintained: nighttime curfew, ban on gatherings, the transport of weapons, the sale of alcohol and the TikTok application.
Seized by defenders of freedoms, the Council of State (highest French administrative authority) granted an additional 24 hours to the government on Tuesday to justify the blocking of the social network and provide proof of the role attributed to it by the authorities in the riots.
On the political front, the main non-independence figures of the archipelago, gathered at a press conference in Nouméa on Tuesday, called for continuing the examination of the contested constitutional reform, which must be adopted before the end of June.
Its withdrawal would be “a very serious error” which would “prove the thugs, the looters and the rioters right”, asserted the deputy for New Caledonia, Nicolas Metzdorf.
However, calls have multiplied, from all political sides to demand a postponement of this reform, which would have the consequence of marginalizing the voices of the indigenous Kanak community, according to the separatists.