The French president’s visit comes after requests from regional officials and lawmakers from overseas territories, who had asked the head of state for a dialogue process to eliminate the cause of the protests, namely electoral roll reform.
The French President, Emmanuel Macrontravels for a ‘mission’ of dialogue to the territory of New Caledonia, which is suffering from a wave of protests for nine days.
The presidential trip was announced by government spokesperson, Prisca Thevenotafter the weekly Council of Ministers, which debated the situation in the South Pacific archipelago, where a clear improvement has been noted in recent days, although without complete restoration of calm.
Macron’s decision comes after requests from regional officials and lawmakers from overseas territories, who had asked the head of state for a dialogue process to try to close the cause of the protests. reform of the territory’s electoral roll.
Protests became widespread last Tuesday after the National Assembly approved the opening of that census, which has been blocked since 1998, the date of the census. Noumea agreements.
The French parliament then gave the green light to expand the census, both for natives born after that year and for those who came from abroad with a period of residence of at least ten years.
This reform has happened rejected by the independentswho control four of the five levels of the autonomous territorial government, because they believe that this will dilute the weight of the natives and increase that of people from abroad, especially from the mother country.
Since then, the wave of violence has resulted six dead (four civilians and two gendarmes), with hundreds of prisoners. In and around the capital Noumea alone, approximately 400 industrial and commercial buildings have been destroyed or severely damaged.
After the start of the protests, Macron proposed postpone its entry into force of the census reform and initiating a political dialogue between all parties, something he is expected to do during his trip to Noumea, the duration of which has not yet been specified.
The government declared the state of emergency Last week it sent a thousand police officers and gendarmes to reinforce the 1,700 people already in the area and placed the international airport and ports under military protection.
La Totounta international airport, about 45 kilometers from Noumea, will remain closed to commercial traffic at least until next Saturday.
Source: EITB
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
