The French authorities in New Caledonia seem to be determined to secure the area of St Louis to the south of Noumea after more shootings last weekend.
Unidentified gunmen fired at cars and once police arrived to close the road, they were shot at as well, with two officers suffering injuries.
Walter Zweifel told Don Wiseman that the exasperation has reached a new spike.
Photo: AFP
Transcript
WALTER ZWEIFEL: The matter has been raised in the French parliament and the interior minister Bruno Le Roux said this situation in St Louis cannot go on like this. He said four police squads have been deployed. He also said three men were wanted over the latest shooting. There have been several incidents of that kind in the last few months but now everybody is alarmed to learn that the bullets were modified to be able to penetrate the armour of the police vehicles.
Also in parliament, a New Caledonian member Philippe Gomes said France which is responsible for security should set up a permanent police presence. He said 15000 people live in fear because of the shooting.
DW: Why is this road so important?
WZ: it's the only road leading out of Noumea to the south. It links Noumea to Mont Dore one of the main towns making up the agglomeration and it's also the road to Yate and the Vale Nickel plant. It so happens that it passes through a patch of relatively flat land near St Louis which is a poor neighbourhood. This violence is not a new phenomenon but there are now calls to build a bypass. During the days of the blockades, small boats have been used to ferry people to and from Noumea but the service is in no way sufficient to replace the road access.
DW: Is it a policing issue only?
WZ: For many, it is and everybody agrees that the shootings have to stop. When the latest spate of violence erupted at the end of October the French government promised to try to tackle youth crime.
Many know that the violence is also a sign of poverty, of lack of opportunities and inequality. Daniel Goa who is a pro-independence politician says the St Louis troubles are the tip of the iceberg of problems facing New Caledonia's society. There are undoubtedly difficulties to integrate some of the young people. New Caledonia has in recent years seen more youth offending, with cars being stolen, drug use and intermittent confrontations with police. An additional issue is the prevalence of weapons as traditionally rural people have hunting rifles.
Mr Goa has also appealed to those who have come from the outside and want the territory to stay French to refrain from provocations. He is working towards independence but later this year New Caledonia may well be represented in the French parliament by his political rivals, Philippe Gomes and Bernard Deladriere, who both happen to have been born in French Africa.
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