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France's President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with crew members before boarding his Presidential plane to travel to the Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia in an attempt to resolve a political crisis, at the Orly airport, a suburb of Paris on May 21, 2024.
Macron's high-stakes visit to riot-torn New Caledonia
French President Emmanuel Macron is making a surprise trip to New Caledonia, the French Pacific territory gripped by deadly unrest among young people from the Indigenous Kanak community. The violence has renewed discussions about France’s colonial past, which have largely focused on Africa until now.
Background: Riots began after France's parliament approved constitutional changes to give local voting rights to French citizens who had lived in the archipelago for at least 10 years. This would dilute the voting rights of the Indigenous population, which has voted three times for independence from France in recent years.
Macron is facing a lose-lose situation. If he postpones the constitutional change – it’s set to be ratified at the end of May – he will look like he is caving to violence. If he does nothing, he risks the insurrection continuing to dominate the French news cycle, rather than France’s recent economic upturn, ahead of the upcoming European Parliamentary elections. But with Macron’s party 15 points behind Marie Le Pen’s, he was already expected to face a humiliating defeat when voters head to the polls on June 9.
As Macron makes the two-day journey in hopes of finding a “comprehensive security agreement,” troops are working to rein in the violence ahead of his arrival. Their priority is clearing the highway to the international airport of barricades and burned vehicles, which are currently slowing tourists from leaving and medical and food supplies from arriving.
Violent riots have been taking place in Noumea since yesterday evening. Numerous shops and a number of houses have been set alight, looted or destroyed by young independantists, who reject the reform of the electoral freeze. In photo: view of Noumea, where many buildings are under fire. New Caledonia, Noumea, May 14, 2024.
Pas de TikTok! France cracks down on New Caledonia unrest
France declared a 12-day state of emergency and banned TikTok in its South Pacific territory of New Caledonia on Thursday after at least four people were killed and hundreds more injured in riots that broke out Monday. Members of the indigenous Kanak people are reacting to a new law passed over 10,000 miles away in Paris that would give some French citizens from the metropole local voting rights and potentially dilute Kanak sovereignty.
Residents in the capital, Nouméa, report being confined to their homes for over two days, sheltering from the gunfire outside. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal promised to send an additional 1,000 security officers to reinforce local authorities and justified removing access to TikTok because it was raising tensions.
At the heart of the violence is France’s strained relations with Kanak activists, who have pressed for independence since the 1980s. France has held independence referenda three times, each of which failed (though the most recent, 2021, was boycotted by pro-independence leaders). If the non-Kanak franchise is expanded, supporters of independence fear the window for self-determination could close entirely.
Paris expects to regain control of the situation shortly, but we’re watching for signs it might soft-pedal voting reforms to cool temperatures. It’s all an unwelcome distraction for French President Emmanuel Macron, who had hoped to turn political discourse toward his economic achievements ahead of EU elections, according to Eurasia Group analyst Mujtaba Rahman.Displaced Palestinian woman Mai Anseir stands with children at a school where they shelter as they prepare to flee Rafah after Israeli forces launched a ground and air operation in the eastern part of the southern Gaza City, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip May 13, 2024.
Hard Numbers: Waves of Palestinians displaced, Deadly cartel violence in Mexico, Fatal riots in New Caledonia, Biden sanctions Nicaragua, Israeli soldiers killed by friendly fire
500,000: Over half a million people have been displaced in Gaza by recent Israeli military operations in Rafah and the northern part of the enclave, according to the UN. As the Israel-Hamas war rages on, over a million people in Gaza are on the verge of starvation, and a “full-blown famine” is occurring in the north.
11: Recent clashes between rival cartels in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas have killed at least 11 people, with two nuns and a teenager reportedly among the dead. The Sinaloa cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel are fighting for control of the area.
4: At least four people are dead due to riots over electoral reform in New Caledonia, a Pacific island and French overseas territory. France declared a state of emergency over the situation, which grants authorities more power to ban gatherings and restrict movement.
250: The Biden administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Nicaraguan companies and visa restrictions on 250 people, accusing President Daniel Ortega’s government of “profiting off of irregular migration” to the US. Officials say the Nicaraguan government is exploiting migrants trying to reach the US by selling visas that require them to leave the country within 96 hours. Biden’s move aims to reduce the flow of migrants to the US — an issue that he continues to face pressure over with an election looming.
5: Five Israeli soldiers were killed in a friendly fire incident in northern Gaza on Wednesday, Israel’s military said today. The Israel Defense Forces have opened an investigation into the incident, which involved tank cross-fire in the town of Jabalia. Seven others were injured.