Noumea: France lifted a state of emergency in the Pacific region of New Caledonia on Tuesday but maintained a curfew and sent hundreds of troops after two weeks of unrest that left seven dead and hundreds injured.
The French president said the ban had made it easier for the pro-independence FLNKS party to hold meetings with local representatives to try to remove the road barricades.
Paris declared a state of emergency after riots broke out over plans to change voting rights in the region. Several hundred police and military forces were sent to New Caledonia.
Authorities said another 480 troops would leave France “within hours”. In New Caledonia, a French government agency said the 6pm to 6am ban on alcohol would be lifted.
Although the archipelago is more peaceful, there is some unrest in the Vallée-du-Tir district of Noumea, the main city. About 500 arrests have been made since the uprising began.
A long queue of vehicles has formed during the day, but many roads to the international airport are still blocked by hundreds of burning cars. The airport will remain closed until June 2. Authorities said 600 policemen would be deployed to clear the entrance to Medipole Hospital.
Lifting the embargo is a “necessary condition for the opening of clear and serious negotiations”, the French president announced at 5:00 a.m. Tuesday (1800 Monday) a state of emergency.
President Emmanuel Macron left for the Pacific archipelago on Thursday to avoid the crisis.
Australia and New Zealand began repatriating their citizens on Tuesday.
A total of about 3,500 soldiers were deployed in the archipelago where two policemen died.
New Caledonia has been ruled from Paris since the 1800s, but many local Kanaks resent French rule over the islands and want more autonomy or independence.
France plans to give the right to vote to thousands of non-indigenous people, which Kanaks say will reduce the impact of their vote.
In a whirlwind visit to New Caledonia, Macron said voting reform “will not be forced”.
The pro-independence group CCAT, which organized the protest, did not remove the roadblocks and offered to replace the chaos in order to get fuel and medicine.
After meeting with Macron on Saturday, the FLNKS party reiterated its desire to roll back the voting reform.
