French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in New Caledonia after four people – including a gendarme – were killed in riots that broke out over controversial changes to voting rules.
Hundreds of people have been injured in the worst unrest the Pacific island has seen since the 1980s, with schools and shops shuttered as police reinforcements were sent in.
French authorities say more than 130 people have been arrested since protests turned violent on Monday.
Shops were looted and vehicles set on fire, prompting authorities to ban public gatherings and close the main airport. A night-time curfew has been extended to Thursday.
The Interior Ministry said 500 security forces would be deployed to support the 1,800 police and gendarmes already in the French overseas territory.
“All violence is intolerable and will be the subject of a relentless response to ensure the return of order," the Elysée's website said.
Those killed were young indigenous Kanak people, a spokesperson for New Caleonian leader Louis Mapou said, as well as a gendarme who was shot in Plum, a south-western coastal village.
Macron cancelled a planned trip to Normandy on Wednesday to focus on the crisis.
Constitutional reform
New Caledonia has witnessed decades of tensions between indigenous Kanaks seeking independence from France, and the descendants of colonisers who want to remain French.
This week's violence came after the National Assembly on Tuesday approved a constitutional reform that would increase the number of people eligible to participate in elections.
Under the bill, which still needs to pass a second round before coming law, French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years will be allowed to vote in provincial elections.
Pro-independence leaders fear this will dilute the Kanak vote.
Both French President Emmanuel Macron and Mapou have called for calm and dialogue.
FLNKS , the main pro-independence political group, said would accept the offer and was willing to work toward an agreement "that would allow New Caledonia to follow its path toward emancipation".
