Prime Minister Gabriel Attal estimated on Monday May 20 that“there is still a way to go before returning to normal” in New Caledonia after having chaired a new interministerial crisis unit, prior to a defense council scheduled for the evening at the Elysée. “Internal security forces continue to arrive in large numbers thanks to the airlift that we have put in place. We are making progress. No less than 76 roadblocks have been destroyed on the road linking Nouméa to its airport”he said in a message posted on. He also reaffirmed his government’s determination to “restore order”. Follow our live stream.
29 people were arrested on Monday. “The High Commissioner [Louis Le Franc] congratulates the mobilized forces for their work which made it possible to begin securing Magenta and Ducos and to carry out dissuasive operations at Vallée du Tir and Rivière Salée”we can read on. In addition to this assessment, the high commission has also announced that “reinforcements arrived[ai]ent in greater Nouméa”.
Nouméa international airport will remain closed until Thursday. It will remain closed to commercial flights until 9 a.m. Thursday (midnight in Paris, during the night from Wednesday to Thursday), announced the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of New Caledonia, manager of the platform. Commercial activity has been at a standstill since Tuesday, despite requests in particular from Australia and New Zealand, who are demanding the ability to evacuate their nationals.
The blockages persist. The lines of communication remain blocked where the rioters have installed their roadblocks, particularly in the urban area of Nouméa and on the road of around fifty kilometers which leads to the Tontouta international airport. The representative of the central State in New Caledonia nevertheless welcomed the “success” of the start of a vast gendarmerie operation against the roadblocks on this road, launched at dawn on Sunday.
Darmanin posthumously decorated the two killed gendarmes. A military plane carrying the remains of the two gendarmes who died in New Caledonia landed on Monday at the Istres air base, in Bouches-du-Rhône. During a tribute ceremony, the Homeland Security Gold Medal was awarded to Nicolas Molinari, 22, and Xavier Salou, 46 years old, by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, and the Minister Delegate for Overseas Territories, Marie Guévenoux.
A new defense council Monday evening. Emmanuel Macron convened a new defense and national security council at 6:30 p.m. This is the third meeting of this type since Wednesday, when the decision to establish a state of emergency was taken.