Man shot dead by police north of New Caledonia capital
A 48-year-old man was killed in New Caledonia on Tuesday by a police officer who had been "physically attacked" by demonstrators, the Noumea prosecutor's office said.
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Mundo Nova Caledónia
This is the seventh fatal victim since the beginning of the crisis in the French overseas territory in Oceania and it occurs one day after the trip of the Head of State Emmanuel Macron to Noumea.
When they were traveling in Dumbea, north of the capital, two police officers were "physically attacked by a group of about fifteen individuals" and one of them fired the weapon, explained the prosecutor Yves Dupas.
The police officer, in whom traces of aggression were found, was arrested.
The Numea International Airport will remain closed to commercial flights until 9:00 am on Tuesday (10:00 pm on Monday in Lisbon), said the director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the French overseas territory.
The La Tontouta airport has been closed to commercial flights since May 14 due to roadblocks.
The crisis was caused by the legislative reform approved by the National Assembly in Paris that would extend the electorate for the provincial elections to all natives of New Caledonia and residents for at least 10 years.
Independence supporters believe that the enlargement may "further marginalize the Kanak people", who make up 41% of the population.
The agreement defended by Emmanuel Macron should also include a plan to make the economy less dependent on nickel (local production) and "the issue of a self-determination vote".
New Caledonia is an archipelago located in Melanesia, about 1,200 kilometers east of Australia and 17,000 from Paris, with just over 270,000 inhabitants.
The population voted in referendums on independence in 2018 and 2019, with the vote in favor of France being 56% and 53%, respectively.
A third referendum in 2020 was boycotted by pro-independence forces, who believe that the vote should have been postponed due to the pandemic.
Read Also: Macron says that New Caledonia cannot become "a Wild West" (Portuguese version)
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