Emmanuel Macron in the role of the sheriff? New Caledonia “is not the Wild West”, “so the Republic must regain authority on all points”defended the Head of State, Friday May 24, in an interview broadcast by Nouvelle-Calédonie La 1ère. “In France, not everyone defends themselves,” he added before leaving the archipelago, in reference to the violent riots which have punctuated the territory for ten days and to the militia groups who are organizing the defense of their neighborhoods. Follow our live stream.
Emmanuel Macron procrastinates. New Caledonia is in uncertainty on Friday, the day after a visit by the president, who promised that the contested electoral reform on the archipelago would not pass “not strong”. The head of state, however, request “the resumption of dialogue with a view to a global agreement” to grant the right to vote to more voters, by the end of June, so that then “this agreement can be submitted to the vote of Caledonians”.
The closure of the airport further extended. Nouméa-La Tontouta international airport will remain closed to commercial flights until 9 a.m. Tuesday (midnight Paris time, Monday night to Tuesday), announced the platform manager. This brings the closure of this airport to two weeks. Since Tuesday, however, New Zealand and Australia have started chartering special flights to evacuate hundreds of tourists.
Schools closed until June 17. Schools will remain closed next week on Grande Terre, while uncertainty still remains regarding establishments in the island province. With the school holidays, school will not resume until June 17.