The President has decided for the time being not to extend the state of emergency beyond its legal deadline of 12 days to allow for meetings with the pro-independence FLNKS party, the Elysee said in a statement Sunday.
Paris is planning to give voting rights to thousands of non-Indigenous, long-term residents in the territory. But Kanaks strongly oppose the move. They say it would dilute the influence of their votes.
The emergency measures boosted police powers and gave authorities greater powers to tackle the violence, including the possibility of house detention for people deemed a threat to public order.
The French government also dispatched hundreds of police and military reinforcements to restore order in the archipelago. Still, police are struggling to control certain districts of the capital Noumea.
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