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Three people were killed and others wounded as riots and looting continued in New Caledonia on Tuesday night.
The unrest came after French lawmakers voted on a contentious bill, according to the high commissioner of the French Pacific territory.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who canceled a planned trip to Normandy on Wednesday to respond to the unrest, would ask his Cabinet in a meeting later in the day to declare a state of emergency in New Caledonia, the Elysees Palace said.
What we know about the riots
The three killed were young indigenous Kanak people, a spokesperson for New Caledonia's president Louis Mapou said based on police information, according to the Reuters news agency.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Wednesday said "hundreds" of people, including police, were hurt in the latest unrest.
On Wednesday, gunshots were heard in the morning despite a curfew. Meanwhile, schools in the capital, Noumea, remained shut.
The government of the French territory, to the east of Australia in the Indo-Pacific, had earlier mobilized security forces and issued a 12-hour overnight curfew for Tuesday night.
Vote on changes to the New Caledonian constitution passes
The region was on the boil this week, ahead of a French National Assembly vote on changes to the New Caledonian constitution, which would enable more migrants on the island — in many cases from France — to vote.
Riots erupted after the National Assembly approved the changes to voting rules on Tuesday, local media reported.
Lawmakers in Paris voted 351 to 153 in favor of a new bill allowing French residents who have lived in the French territory for 10 years to vote in provincial elections.
Supporters of New Caledonia's independence fear the bill will dilute the vote of the indigenous Kanak people.
Lawmakers in Paris voted 351 to 153 in favor of a new bill allowing French residents who have lived in the French territory for 10 years to vote in provincial electionsImage: MATHURIN DEREL/AFPss/rc (Reuters, AFP)
