SYDNEY/PARIS, May 17 (Reuters) - French police reinforcements have started arriving in New Caledonia as part of a massive operation to regain control of the capital Noumea, the top French official in the Pacific island territory said on Friday.
The number of police and gendarmes on the French-ruled island will rise to 2,700 from 1,700 by Friday evening.
Not that I particularly care to defend the french government, but there was 3 referendums, with voting restrictions in favor of the kanak, as per an agreement between the government and the kanaks. The first 2 went against independence and the kanaks decided to boycott the third (the polling was going against independence, again)
Does that mean all is fine and dandy? Obviously not, but I don’t think the story is as one sided as “classic french colonialism”