France declared a state of emergency on the Pacific island of New Caledonia on Wednesday after three young Indigenous Kanak and a police official were killed in riots over electoral reform.
The state of emergency, which entered into force at 5 a.m. local time (6 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time), gives authorities additional powers to ban gatherings and forbid people from moving around the French-ruled island.
Police reinforcements, adding 500 officers to the 1,800 usually present on the island, have been sent after rioters torched vehicles and businesses and looted stores.