FILE - Smoke rises during protests in Noumea, New Caledonia, Wednesday May 15, 2024. Using backhoes to shove aside charred vehicles, French security forces worked Sunday, May 19, 2024, to retake control of the highway to the international airport in violence-scorched New Caledonia, shuttered because of deadly unrest wracking the French South Pacific island where indigenous people have long sought independence from France. (AP Photo/Nicolas Job, File)
PARIS – President Emmanuel Macron arrived in riot-hit New Caledonia, having crossed the globe by plane in a high-profile show of support for the French Pacific archipelago wracked by deadly unrest and where Indigenous people have long sought independence from France.
Macron, who briefly spoke to reporters after his arrival at La Tontouta International Airport, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the New Caledonian capital of Noumea, said he viewed a return to calm as the top priority.
“My wish, along with that of my ministers and the government, is to be alongside the people and see a return to peace, calm and security as soon as possible,” he said.
The president binned his previously announced schedule to make the journey of some 16,000 kilometers (10,000 miles) himself, spurred by the most severe violence to hit New Caledonia since the 1980s. The lightning visit, expected to last just one day, will allow him to see first-hand some of the scars from days of shootings, arson, looting and other violence that has left at least six dead and a broad trail of destruction.
He is expected to push for local leaders bitterly divided by the issue of independence to resume talks, and to thank French security forces that have been seeking to restore order. More than 1,000 reinforcements have been rushed in and a state of emergency was declared last week from Paris to boost their powers.
It was late Tuesday in Paris when he climbed aboard his presidential jet but, because of the distance and time difference, it was already Thursday morning in New Caledonia when he arrived, with unrest still simmering and his interior and defense ministers in tow.
The violence erupted May 13 as the French legislature in Paris debated amending the French Constitution to make changes to New Caledonia voter lists. Opponents fear the measure will benefit pro-France politicians in New Caledonia and further marginalize the Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination.
There have been decades of tensions between the Kanaks and descendants of colonists and others who settled in the territory of 270,000 people and want to remain part of France.
The presidential Elysee Palace said Macron will focus on facilitating dialogue among local leaders. He was also expected to discuss the significant reconstruction needed. The violence has caused damage estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of euros (dollars).
Macron, in the past, has facilitated dialogue in New Caledonia between pro-independence and pro-France factions. The efforts culminated in a 2018 referendum, the first of three, in which New Caledonians voted to remain part of France by a narrow margin.
At least six people have died in the violence, including four civilians and two gendarmes. The New Caledonia High Commission said more than 280 people have been arrested and 84 police officers and gendarmes have been injured. It was not clear how many civilians were injured.
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AP writers Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia; John Leicester in Paris; and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.
