New Caledonia, one of five island territories spanning the Indo-Pacific held by France, is central to Macron’s plan to increase French influence in the Pacific.
Deadly violence has erupted in New Caledonia, a French overseas territory in the South Pacific, after lawmakers in Paris approved a constitutional amendment to allow recent arrivals to the territory to vote in provincial elections.
The amendment, which some local leaders fear will dilute the vote of the indigenous Kanak, is the latest flashpoint in a decades-long tussle over France’s role on the island.
