While Nouméa international airport will remain closed to commercial flights at least until Saturday morning, the rotations of neighboring countries to repatriate their nationals have already begun. Around a hundred tourists were evacuated from New Caledonia, a Pacific archipelago plunged into a political and security crisis for a week, the state representative on site announced this Wednesday.
Australia and New Zealand began the day before, Tuesday, to carry out the first evacuation flights of their nationals who found themselves stranded on the island when violent riots broke out last Monday which led to the death of six people, including two gendarmes.
Macron expected Thursday morning
“A hundred tourists have already returned to their territories thanks to flights chartered by their authorities,” said the High Commissioner of the Republic Louis Le Franc. “These operations will continue until the reopening of La Tontouta international airport,” he said.
The night from Tuesday to Wednesday “was calmer than the previous one, despite two fires in the Nouméa metropolitan area,” according to the High Commissioner.
Emmanuel Macron is expected Thursday morning in New Caledonia, where he plans to set up a “mission” whose contours are still unclear.