Violent protests by independence supporters in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia have led to 82 arrests and 54 police officers being injured, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told broadcaster franceinfo on Tuesday.
The separatists are angry about a planned constitutional amendment by the government in Paris, which would give thousands of French citizens in the archipelago in the South Pacific the right to vote and therefore wield more political influence.
There have been demonstrations and clashes with security forces, particularly in the suburbs of the capital Nouméa, the public broadcaster 1ère Nouvelle-Calédonie reported.
Several shops and cars have gone up in flames since Monday. Eyewitnesses on social media reported looting.
The international airport, schools and public services in the islands are closed until further notice. Curfews are planned for the coming night.
French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc announced that several police officers had been injured and that he had requested reinforcements from Paris to maintain law and order.
New Caledonia is important to Paris as a strategic military base and because of nickel deposits there. The inhabitants voted in favour of remaining part of France in three referendums in 2018, 2020 and 2021.
However, the independence movement boycotted the last vote and announced that it would not accept the result.
Talks on a new status for the overseas territory - around 1,500 kilometres east of Australia - resumed in France last year. In July, President Emmanuel Macron travelled to Nouméa and announced a constitutional reform specific to New Caledonia in a speech in front of numerous supporters.
The protests centre on a plan to give the right to vote to around 25,000 people of French descent who have lived in New Caledonia continuously for over 10 years. Until now, the votes of all residents who had not lived in New Caledonia before 1998 were "frozen."
The territory, with a population of around 270,000, had already gained extensive autonomy through the 1998 Nouméa Agreement. Paris hopes to conclude a new agreement in the coming months.