Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, is planning to travel to the French overseas territory of New Caledonia, following weeks of riots and unrest there.
The South Pacific islands have been hit by unrest following amendments to laws governing who is eligible to vote in the archipelago’s elections. The amendments raised concerns among the indigenous Kanak people that they would lose influence in New Caledonian politics, with opposition to the changes leading to outbreaks of violence.
It is not clear when Macron will be travelling to the islands or how long he will be staying there for. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal will also reportedly travel to New Caledonia.
Earlier in the week, Macron reportedly said that French troops had largely succeeded in restoring order, but that they would have to stay there for some time to ensure that the situation did not go out of control again.
Australia and New Zealand have evacuated citizens and the airport is still closed to commercial flights.