New Caledonia
Total chaos on the paradise island: "Everything is on fire"
Emil Forsberg
Published 00.16
They have already banned Tiktok, stopped the Olympic fire and called in the cavalry.
Now France is introducing martial law to control the chaos in the tropical island group of New Caledonia.
- Everything burns, people have no boundaries, says student Olivia Iloa.
The violence in New Caledonia is in its sixth day.
The night's explosions rained much more frequently than they did before, witnesses told BFMTV.
On Saturday, one person was also killed in a shooting at one of the many improvised barricades blocking roads on the island, Euronews said. It is the sixth death toll since the fighting broke out. Hundreds have been injured.
Demonstrators are also said to have taken control of parts of the island while houses and cars are on fire.
- Everything burns, people have no borders, says student Olivia Iloa to Reuters.
Turn off Tiktok
France has reinforced the island with a thousand police and marines to try to curb the violence. On Saturday, martial law was imposed in the archipelago.
Tiktok has also been shut down to prevent the spread of misinformation.
- The situation in New Caledonia is very tense, with looting, riots, fires, and intolerable attacks, says French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal according to Reuters.
On Friday, Attal also announced that the violence makes it impossible to let the Olympic flame pass through New Caledonia as planned and that it is forced to cancel the event.
Pointing out the country
The protests broke out after the amendment to the French constitution that will allow residents who have lived in New Caledonia for ten years to vote in the provincial elections in the French colony. Something that is seen as a threat to the indigenous population's vote share.
France has accused Azerbaijan of encouraging the protests, in response to France's support for Armenia. Azerbaijan denies the allegations.
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