New Caledonia Riots: Three people shot dead in New Caledonia riots, local media gave information

Three people were shot dead as riots continued in New Caledonia after France’s National Assembly approved changes to voting rules on the Pacific island on Tuesday evening, BFM TV reported on Wednesday, citing New Caledonia’s high commissioner.

There was unrest in New Caledonia, an official said, as rioting continued and shops and schools remained closed on Wednesday after France’s National Assembly approved changes to voting rules on the Pacific island.

A spokesman for New Caledonia’s President Louis Mpou said the three people killed were young indigenous Kanaks. He said the information was provided by police.

The riots broke out before lawmakers in Paris this week voted on a bill allowing French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years to vote in provincial elections, a move some local leaders fear will dilute the Kanak vote.

French President Emmanuel Macron and New Caledonia’s President Louis Mpou called for calm and dialogue.

French authorities said a man had been shot dead in an industrial zone, with High Commissioner Louis Le Franc saying the shot was not from police but from “someone who was probably defending himself”.

The French government said changes to voting rules were needed, which lawmakers backed by 351 to 153, to make elections democratic in the country.

Macron has offered to hold talks between New Caledonia’s pro- and anti-independence camps before the bill is approved by a special congress of both houses of parliament.