A proposed change to elections by President Emmanuel Macron's government is the latest flashpoint in long-standing tensions over French rule of the mineral-producing Pacific island some 930 miles east of Australia.
Police reinforcements have been arriving in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia as part of a major security crackdown following days of deadly rioting. An extra 1,000 personnel have been sent to the archipelago in addition to the 1,700 already deployed, after France imposed a state of emergency to tackle the unrest, which included a curfew and a ban on TikTok.
The Pacific Conference of Churches has joined regional inter-governmental groups in calling for France to withdraw the constitutional bill, and pressed for the involvement of the United Nations. Pacific Elders Voice, a group of former Pacific leaders, has said decisions are being made in Paris without meaningful consultation and France should listen to 'indigenous Kanak voices and the Pacific-wide support for self-determination'.
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