Macron heads to New Caledonia as Australia, New Zealand send evacuation flights
World
Macron heads to New Caledonia as Australia, New Zealand send evacuation flights
SYDNEY/PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to the Pacific island of New Caledonia on Tuesday, a government spokesperson said, just over a week after riots erupted in the French overseas territory, leaving six dead.
The riots over electoral reform have left a trail of destruction with shops looted, cars burnt and road barricades restricting access to medicine and food. The island's business chamber said 150 companies had been looted and burnt.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting, French government spokesman Prisca Thevenot said Macron would travel to "set up a mission," without saying what it could entail.
Some politicians have called for veteran politicians to be named as mediators, but Thevenot did not say if this was what Macron had in mind.
"Our priority is the return to calm and order," Thevenot said, noting the situation on the ground was improving but more needed to be done.
Australia and New Zealand have already begun evacuating nationals from New Caledonia.
Around 3,200 people are waiting to leave or enter New Caledonia after commercial flights were cancelled last week due to the unrest, the local government has said.
"New Zealanders in New Caledonia have faced a challenging few days - and bringing them home has been an urgent priority for the government," New Zealand foreign minister Winston Peters said.
The New Zealand Herald reported that a defence force plane had landed in Auckland with some 50 citizens evacuated from New
Caledonia. Further flights were expected in the coming days.
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said clearance had been received for two Australian government assisted-departure flights on Tuesday for tourists wanting to leave.
France's High Commission in New Caledonia said the airport remained closed for commercial flights, and it will deploy the military to protect public buildings.
MORE POLICE
Australian officials said passengers were being prioritised based on need. Those left behind were frustrated, said Australian Benen Huntley, honeymooning with wife Emily.
"My wife is quite upset, we just want to get home," he said in a telephone interview.
"We opened our hotel door this morning and you could just see an enormous billow of smoke coming off a building in the distance."
