(16 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris – 16 May 2024
++QUALITY AS INCOMING++
1. Various of Defence Council meeting at Elysee Palace with French President Emmanuel Macron
STORYLINE:
French President Emmanuel Macron held a Defence Council meeting on Thursday to discuss unrest in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia.
France imposed an emergency Wednesday in New Caledonia for at least 12 days, boosting security forces’ powers to quell deadly unrest in the archipelago where Indigenous people have long sought independence.
Armed clashes and other violence that erupted Monday following protests over voting reforms have left four people dead, including a gendarme, and injured more than 300, French authorities said.
French military forces were being deployed to protect ports and airports, to free up police and security forces battling looting, arson and other violence, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced as the emergency measures kicked in at 8 p.m. Paris time, which was 5 a.m. Thursday in New Caledonia.
The emergency measures give authorities greater powers to tackle the violence, including the possibility of house detention for people deemed a threat to public order and expanded powers to conduct searches, seize weapons and restrict movements, with possible jail time for violators.
The last time France imposed such measures on one of its overseas territories was in 1985, also in New Caledonia, the Interior Ministry said.
Macron has emphasized the need for political dialogue and made repeated calls for an end to the violence.
AP video by Oleg Cetiic
Production by Masha Macpherson
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