2 killed in restive New Caledonia during a French police operation

PARIS — Two people have been killed in New Caledonia during a police operation to apprehend activists suspected of involvement in deadly unrest over attempts by Paris to amend the French constitution and change voting lists in the French Pacific territory, according to French media reports on Thursday. Last week, French authorities in New Caledonia announced an extended curfew, banning gatherings and travel across the archipelago from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. for fear of protests by the Indigenous Kanak people around next week’s anniversary of the French takeover of the Pacific territory. The latest violence flared on May 13 in response to attempts by President Emmanuel Macron’s government to amend the French Constitution and change voting lists in New Caledonia, which Kanaks feared would further marginalize them by granting more rights to recent arrivals from mainland France. In a recent statement, posted on social media the group vowed that “the Kanak people will never give up on their desire for independence with peaceful means.” In the past seven months, The Field Action Coordination Unit has organized peaceful marches in New Caledonia against French authorities and the Paris-backed voting reform.