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Two men have been killed in a police operation in New Caledonia, a French overseas territory, amid ongoing tensions between the Indigenous Kanak people and French authorities. The deaths occurred during an intervention by French police in Saint Louis, south of the capital Noumea, aimed at apprehending individuals involved in recent violence.
Public prosecutor Yves Dupas confirmed that the two men, aged 29 and 30, were shot after officers were “directly threatened by a group of armed individuals.” The officers responded by firing two shots, one hitting the 30-year-old man in the abdomen and the other striking the 29-year-old in the chest.
This brings the death toll from the ongoing unrest, which began in May, to 13. The violence was sparked by proposed voting reforms by the French government, which the Kanaks fear would marginalize them further and weaken their push for independence from France. The reforms would grant voting rights to long-term non-Indigenous residents, a controversial move in the territory of 270,000 people.
Despite French President Emmanuel Macron suspending the reforms in June, violence has persisted. The French government has deployed thousands of troops and police to quell the unrest, with damage from the riots estimated at around €2.2 billion ($2.4 billion). Last week, French authorities imposed an extended curfew across the archipelago in response to ongoing protests.
The unrest reflects long-standing tensions between the Indigenous Kanak population and French authorities, dating back to France’s annexation of New Caledonia in 1853. Despite being granted citizenship in 1957, many Kanaks continue to seek independence from French rule.
