New Caledonia 'under siege' from rioting, says capital's mayor
Hundreds of French gendarmes are trying to secure the road from Nouméa to the airport, officials say.
Nouméa is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian, Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians, Ni-Vanuatu and Kanaks who work in one of the South Pacific's most industrialised cities. The city lies on a protected deepwater harbour that serves as the chief port for New Caledonia.
Hundreds of French gendarmes are trying to secure the road from Nouméa to the airport, officials say.
New Caledonia has announced a mass security mobilisation and a curfew for residents after a protest turned into a violent riot in..