French court orders release of New Caledonia pro-independence leader
FILE PHOTO: People demonstrate as French President Emmanuel Macron's motorcade drives past in Noumea, France's Pacific territory of New Caledonia on May 23, 2024. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
PARIS - A French appeals court ordered New Caledonia pro-independence leader Christian Tein freed from prison on Thursday, affirming a lower court ruling after deadly riots in the French Pacific territory last year.
"The Paris Court of Appeals confirmed the order for Christian Tein's release and his placement under judicial supervision," a judicial source said, without providing more details.
In spring 2024, violent protests swept New Caledonia after French lawmakers approved a plan to grant voting rights in the territory to thousands more French citizen residents. President Emmanuel Macron declared a state of emergency.
Indigenous Kanaks feared the change would dilute their votes and make it harder for an independence referendum to pass.
In June 2024, police arrested Tein, who led an offshoot of Caledonian Union called the Field Action Coordination Cell (CCAT), which organised protest barricades across the capital Noumea. He was extradited to France that same month.
France scrapped the voting overhaul in October 2024. REUTERS
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