French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal (pictured) announced on Wednesday the dispatch of military forces to New Caledonia's ports and airports amid a surge of violence between protesters, militias and police, in the South Pacific island.
"Military personnel from the armed forces are being deployed to secure the ports and airport of New Caledonia", he said at the opening of an interministerial crisis meeting at the Interior Ministry. Moreover, he said that the territory's high commissioner, Louis Le Franc told him about a ban on the social media TikTok to avoid misinformation spreading during the protests.
"I invite the Caledonian political leaders to seize this extended hand and come to Paris for discussions over the coming weeks […] The important thing is to find the means to ensure that New Caledonia's sovereign choice to remain part of the Republic is respected, and to find the right balance for the future," Attal said during his National Assembly speech.
