‘No warning’: How an Aussie couple became ‘trapped’ in riot-stricken New Caledonia

An Adelaide man now living in New South Wales says he was given no warning of the horror unfolding in New Caledonia ahead of his trip.

A five day birthday getaway to New Caledonia turned into a nightmare for an Australian couple, who spent more than a week confined to a hotel on the riot-stricken territory.

Peter Choquenot and his wife Leonie Poulton were among hundreds of Australians who remained trapped on the island on Tuesday, after two government repatriation flights evacuated more than 100 citizens and other tourists from the French overseas territory that evening.

Mr Choquenot, who is originally from Adelaide but lives in New South Wales, said they didn’t feel as if they were in danger but they were trapped.

“We don’t feel in danger but we are in the very safest part of the country you could be in,” Mr Choquenot told The Advertiser from their hotel on Tuesday night.

“We haven’t felt threatened by anyone directly but you’re just trapped, you’re absolutely trapped here.”

Peter Choquenot and his wife Leonie Poulton, who were trapped in New Caledonia amid the unrest. Picture: Facebook

New Caledonia has been rocked by riots after lawmakers in Paris moved to grant long-term French residents voting rights in local elections. Local leaders say the reform will weaken the vote of the territory’s Indigenous people.

Six people have died amid the unrest and many more have been injured, with French authorities declaring a state of emergency and imposing a curfew in the region.

Mr Choquenot and his wife arrived on the island on May 13 to celebrate Ms Poulton’s birthday, before the Australian government issued travel warnings for the archipelago.

He said the pair had “no warning” of the turmoil in the region with the government slow to deliver its messaging.

“We checked Smart Traveller and there was absolutely no indication that there were any problems at all,” he said.

“You didn’t have to say don’t come, I’m always happy to make that decision but I do trust the government to give me the information to make a balanced decision.”

Charred debris is seen in front of a damaged restaurant in the Magenta district of Noumea, New Caledonia. Picture: Delphine Mayeur / AFP

It was only after they landed that the couple realised something unusual was going on.

“The first thing we saw when we got out of the arrivals part of the airport was a lot of gendarmes in body armour, big weapons and armoured personnel carriers around the airport,” Mr Choquenot said.

During their 60 kilometre drive from the airport to their hotel in the capital of Nouméa, the couple saw roads blocked, armoured personnel carriers burning piles of tires.

“[There were] lots of very angry people waving flags. No rocks thrown or anything like that,” Mr Choquenot said.

“It wasn’t violent but it was definitely intimidating.”

“We went out for dinner that night to a local restaurant which was absolutely empty.

“While at the restaurant we heard some bangs and we thought, ‘oh, someone’s letting off fireworks’. It turns out they were gunshots.”

By the end of their second day in the capital, the pair had been confined to the territory of their hotel.

Mr Choquenot said they are lucky have access to meals and other necessities at the hotel, praising the staff for looking after them, amid reports of Australians rationing food in other parts of the territory.

People wait in line to buy provisions from a supermarket along a street blocked by debris and burnt out items following overnight unrest in the Magenta district of Noumea, New Caledonia. Picture: Delphine Mayeur / AFP

He described atmosphere inside the hotel where he and about 10 other Australians remained on Tuesday as “cheery” but charged with “underlying stress”.

“Everyone’s cheery and drinking some red wine, having dinner, meeting new people as Australians do in these sort of situations … but at the end of the day you can see there’s an underlying stress there,” he said.

On Wednesday, the pair were among more than 100 people evacuated to Australia on a French-assisted flight.

Mr Choquenot said he hoped the Australian government learned “some lessons” from this situation.

“Australia should know what’s going in our own backyard,” he said.

“If we’re sending tourists into these countries, we need to have a higher visibility of what’s going on and we need to be realistic with the warning levels we set so that people are walking into these situations with their eyes wide open.”