Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the federal government was closely monitoring the situation and urged Australians to stay safe.
Three people have been killed in unrest in New Caledonia, an official said, as rioting continued and stores and schools remained shut after France’s National Assembly approved changes to voting rules in the Pacific island.
French authorities in the territory said more than 130 people have been arrested since Monday in the violence that has raged across the archipelago, with decades of tensions between Kanaks seeking independence and descendants of colonisers who want to remain part of France. French officials said one person had been found shot dead in an industrial zone, with High Commissioner Louis le Franc saying the shot did not come from police but “from someone who probably was defending himself”.
Macron has offered to hold dialogue between New Caledonia’s pro- and anti-independence camps before a special congress of the two houses of parliament rubber-stamps the bill. French retailer Decathlon said in a statement its New Caledonia store had been vandalised, looted and burnt overnight, after 10 years of trading.Macron condemned the violence and called for calm in a letter addressed to officials in New Caledonia that was published on the Facebook account of one lawmaker. The FLNKS also condemned the violence and called for protestors to lift road blocks.
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