Three people have died in New Caledonia, a French Pacific island, as the death toll rises amid rising conflict.
Charles Wea, a spokesperson for international affairs in the president’s office, confirmed the fatalities to RNZ Pacific.
A handful of shops have been burned. In the capital, Noumea, all schools, stores, and government services were shuttered.
Power cuts and patchy internet is scaring some residents and there are reports of food supplies being low at some hotels.
France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said hundreds of people had been injured in rioting, according to reports.
French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc said, at a media conference, “I sense dark hours have arrived in New Caledonia”.
He would call on military forces for assistance on Thursday, if necessary, he said.
It follows France sending in more than 600 reinforcements to back up local police. Wea said there were 300-400 more arriving on Wednesday evening from France.
More than 130 people have been arrested and fears are turning to how these people will be detained, with the prison population already at capacity.
French President Emmanuel Macron has cancelled a planned visit to Normandy to chair a defence and national security meeting on the New Caledonia crisis, the French Presidency said.
