France will lift the state of emergency in its overseas territory of New Caledonia after twelve days, President Emmanuel Macron’s office announced in Paris on Monday.
The measure, introduced on May 15 amid unrest in the South Pacific overseas, will not be extended and will end at 5am local time on Tuesday morning (6pm GMT on Monday), French media at the Elysée Palace said.
French media reported that the French government hoped the move would promote dialogue.
However, it went on to say that the condition for concrete negotiations was the removal of the roadblocks erected by the protesters.
Paris also announced the deployment of 480 additional police officers, bringing the number of French security forces in New Caledonia to around 3,500.
Although the situation has largely calmed down, the capital Nouméa’s airport, which has been closed since May 14, will remain closed to all commercial flights until at least June 2.
Macron flew to the South Pacific island nation last week for a short visit to discuss solutions with political forces and defuse the crisis.
The pro-independence protests, which left seven people dead and hundreds arrested, were prompted by a constitutional change planned by Paris. This would give thousands of French-born residents of the archipelago the right to vote in provincial elections and give them more political influence.
The indigenous Kanak ethnic group in particular has long hoped for their own state and now fears that it will be at a disadvantage.
In three referenda in 2018, 2020 and 2021, the residents of the former French colony voted in favor of remaining part of France. However, since the last vote, which was boycotted by the separatists, talks on a new status have stalled.
New Caledonia has traditionally been important to France militarily and geopolitically, but also because of its large nickel deposits.
