Violent protests against new voting rules imposed by France, along with looting and arson attacks, have rocked the French Pacific Islands territory of New Caledonia for a third day, causing the deaths of at least four people, with hundreds more injured as demonstrators clash with security forces.
Three indigenous people were among those who had been killed in the violence by Thursday, along with one French security official. More than 200 people have been arrested and many protest leaders placed under house arrest.
On Thursday, France declared a state of emergency in the territory, to last for 12 days, and deployed some 500 additional military and police personnel in an attempt to quell the unrest which has thrown the capital, Noumea, into disarray.
Mass protests erupted on Tuesday after the French parliament passed reforms to local provincial elections in New Caledonia, allowing French residents who have lived there for 10 years or more to vote. Parliament members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the new law by a vote of 351 153.
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