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French security forces armoured vehicles stationed on the outskirts of Noumea
photo: Radio Regulations Board
The curfew imposed in New Caledonia after violent unrest broke out on May 13 has been extended until August 19, the French High Commission said.
Although the curfew hours have recently been relaxed to 10 pm to 5 am, the dusk to dawn curfew is still in force.
It also includes a ban on the sale, possession and transportation of firearms, ammunition and alcohol.
The French High Commission said in its weekly briefing that 2,343 people have been arrested so far.
Passengers waiting for the ferry to arrive in Noumea by sea
photo: Radio Regulations Board
Clean-up operations are still underway, mainly clearing remaining roadblocks in the capital, Noumea, and its suburbs.
However, the same source said that the main internal road connecting Nouméa to the international airport was now open to traffic after the initial disturbances.
However, another strategic road linking Nouméa to its suburbs remains impassable due to the continued presence of a roadblock in the village of Saint-Louis (Mont-Dore), where many people have taken refuge for weeks.
Due to road obstructions, more and more suburbs have started using ferry services to transport passengers to the capital.
The French High Commission said on Friday that the additional costs associated with the maritime service will be “reimbursed in full” and that French aid will also be used to assist New Caledonia’s southern province in further developing the maritime transport service, including passengers, vehicles and cargo.
The measure is said to allow people to travel to Noumea via alternative routes, where land travel is currently unreliable.
Focus on St. Louis
Yves Dupas, Public Prosecutor of Noumea 7 August 2024
photo: CNC No. 1
Noumea prosecutor Yves Dupas told public broadcaster CNC No. 1 While the insurgency situation in New Caledonia is close to normalization, security forces are currently focusing on remaining areas of illegal activity, particularly the village of Saint-Louis.
“The laws of the Republic apply everywhere in the territory (…) Our goal is to arrest a large number of suspects in San Luis. Some of them have been made in the last few days,” he confirmed.
Searching for more suspects
“Our commitment is to arrest several suspects who are currently taking refuge in the San Luis Tribe. (…) Our strategy is to hold everyone who has violated the law accountable to the justice system,” Dupas said.
He also mentioned that investigations are ongoing into individuals suspected of “giving orders” since the deadly riots nearly three months ago.
Thirteen of them have been arrested and seven have been sent to French prisons as part of the preliminary investigation.
Dupas said his department is currently conducting the same investigation and may find “other people who gave the orders” and bring the same charges against them, which are broadly linked to the “criminal conspiracy.”
“Like any criminal organization, there are bosses who often stay in the shadows (…) to conceal their criminal activities.”
“So the whole purpose of this judicial investigation is to find out all the people who gave the orders to this criminal organization.”
No political prisoners
As for those who are currently charged and detained in mainland China French Prison (They included Christian Theyn, leader of the self-styled “CCAT” — Committee for Coordination of Field Actions — which claimed to have organized a protest that turned into a riot.) Dupas denied that they were “political prisoners.”
“I disagree with the use of the term ‘political prisoners’. Those suspected of giving the orders are not political prisoners because they are not being held for political motives or political views.
The (French) judiciary is not targeting the pro-independence cause. Not at all. Our target is the organization of this action plan, which was implemented, prepared, planned and deployed by a group within CCAT.
Therefore, it is their actions, and ultimately their criminal organization, that have led to a certain amount of crime. That is why they are being provisionally detained “, said the French magistrate.
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