PARIS (AP) — The French Pacific territory of New Caledonia shortens the curfew and reopens the international airport closed to commercial flights for more than a month due to deadly violence that devastated the archipelago where pro-independence indigenous Kanaks want to break away from France.
La Tontouta airport, which connects New Caledonia’s capital Nouméa with Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore and other Pacific hubs, will reopen on Monday, the territory’s high commissioner announced in a statement on Sunday.
The nighttime curfew will also be shortened by two hours, with its start postponed from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., due to “the improvement of the situation and to facilitate the gradual return to normal life,” the high commissioner said.
The violence that flared on May 13 over controversial voting reforms led to nine deaths, including two gendarmes, and widespread destruction of shops, businesses and homes. Tourists trapped by the airport closure were evacuated on military flights.
With France engaged in a frenzied campaign for early parliamentary elections, French President Emmanuel Macron has suspended reforms that would have changed voting rights in New Caledonia. The uprising prompted France on May 15 to declare a state of emergency for the archipelago and quickly send reinforcements to police overwhelmed by armed clashes, looting and arson.
Both sides of New Caledonia’s bitter divide – the indigenous Kanaks who want independence and those loyal to France – have erected barricades, either to rebel against authorities or to protect homes and property. Pro-independence protesters set up barricades of charred vehicles and other debris, turning parts of Nouméa into no-go zones.
