French Pacific News Briefs

Baby’s body found on Noumea beach

The body of a newborn baby was found on a beach in Noumea earlier this week, police said.

According to local media reports, the body was found by residents near the Noumea Dukos industrial area, who subsequently called for help.

Medical staff said the baby was born a few hours ago.

As part of their investigation, police are appealing to the public to come forward with any information they may have about the case.

Qantas resumes flights to Noumea

Qantas resumed flights to Noumea earlier this week.

The company said the first Sydney-Noumea flight since violent unrest broke out in New Caledonia took off on August 3.

From now on, Qantas will operate two flights per week, one on Saturday and the other on Wednesday, from August 18.

Qantas’ resumption of flights to New Caledonia will be phased in, with flights from Brisbane likely to resume later.

In June 2022, Qantas resumed post-COVID flights to New Caledonia from Sydney and Brisbane.

Later, a new route was established in Melbourne.

Meanwhile, Air New Zealand said the suspension of all flights to New Caledonia has been extended until mid-December this year.

Insecurity and “protection” in Noumea

Business owners in New Caledonia report a worrying trend in the capital, Noumea: an increasing number of individuals or newly formed entities offering “protection” services.

The local public broadcaster said the “protection money” was paid to businesses that had not yet been destroyed by the fire or looted by rioters. CNC No.1 Report.

Several company bosses, who asked not to be named, said they had accepted some of the offers and, in some cases, paid up to €25,000 in the past three months.

It is currently estimated that more than 800 businesses have been attacked, burned and looted since violent unrest broke out in New Caledonia on May 13.

Some business leaders, especially in the Noumea Dukos Industrial Zone, see the “proposals” as “outright extortion” and “intimidation”, but say they have no choice.

It was also reported that last weekend, a vehicle belonging to a funeral company was stopped at a roadblock in the village of Saint-Louis near Noumea.

The mob demanded to search the vehicle and examine the body being transported.

They then took the employees’ money before allowing the funeral car to leave.

French Polynesia appoints new armed forces commander

The new commander of the French armed forces in French Polynesia, Brigadier General Guillaume Pinget, took office on Thursday, replacing Brigadier General Geoffroy d’Andigné.

Captain Pingette, 51, was previously commander of the French Navy’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier (2019).

The Commander of the French Armed Forces in French Polynesia is based in Papeete and is in fact also responsible for commanding the entire French naval presence in the Pacific.

Commodore Geoffroy d’Andigné, who has held the position since 2022, said that over the past two years he has been working to strengthen the protection of French Polynesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the face of growing threats in the region.

“We saw Iranian or Chinese ships approaching. This is something we have never seen before,” he told Tahiti Nui TV.

He said the French navy’s purpose in the Pacific was to “defend international law.”

Tahiti’s Judges’ Tower to be demolished

Tahiti’s once controversial judges’ tower built for Olympic surfing is set to be demolished.

The 2024 Paris surfing competition came to a close in Te Ahupo on Monday with a historic win for hometown competitor Kauli Vaast, who became the first French and Polynesian surfer to win gold.

Contractors will spend the next few days removing the wires and other fittings to reinstall them for the next international competition, the Tahiti Pro, in 2025.

Construction of the new tower by the end of 2023 has been criticised by local and international groups who say it will cause severe environmental damage to the reef.

Construction continued because the old wooden tower no longer met international safety requirements.