France to lift state of emergency in efforts to allow political dialogue in riot-hit New Caledonia

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron decided on Monday to lift the state of emergency in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia in a move meant to allow political dialogue following the unrest that left seven people dead and a trail of destruction, his office said. New Caledonia’s top French official, High Commissioner Louis Le Franc said on Monday that an evening and overnight curfew will remain in place. The leader of a pro-independence party in New Caledonia on Saturday called on supporters to “remain mobilized” across the French Pacific archipelago and “maintain resistance” against the Paris government’s efforts to impose electoral reforms that the Indigenous Kanak people fear would further marginalize them. In a separate statement, the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front called on Macron to withdraw the electoral reform bill if France wants to “end the crisis.” New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III, Napoleon’s nephew and heir.