A police officer is held in deadly shooting in riot-hit New Caledonia after Macron pushes for calm

By ALEX TURNBULL and JOHN LEICESTER
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — The French prosecutor for riot-hit New Caledonia says a police officer has shot and killed a man after being set upon by a group of about 15 people. The shooting death on Friday is the seventh in unrest shaking the French Pacific archipelago where Indigenous Kanak people have long sought independence from France. It came hours after an emergency round-trip from Paris by French President Emmanuel Macron to de-escalate the violence sparked by proposed voting reforms contested by Kanak leaders. Prosecutor Yves Dupas said the officer is believed to have fired one shot, killing a 48-year-old man. Speaking to New Caledonia media before jetting out on his return to France, Macron said protesters’ barricades must be lifted “immediately.”