France’s Macron ‘suspends’ New Caledonia reform that sparked deadly riots after snap polls called

President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that a voting reform that triggered deadly riots in French Pacific territory New Caledonia would be “suspended” in light of snap parliamentary polls.

Instead, he aimed to “give full voice to local dialogue and the restoration of order” after weeks of unrest in which nine people died, Macron told reporters at a Paris press conference.

The reform would have allowed people living in New Caledonia for at least 10 years to vote in local ballots – unfreezing electoral rolls that have gone unchanged since 2007.

Indigenous Kanaks feared the change would dilute their vote among the 270,000-strong population, putting hopes for eventually winning independence definitively out of reach.

Although approved by both France’s National Assembly and Senate, the reform was waiting on a constitutional congress of both houses to become part of the basic law.

“I have decided to suspend it, because we can’t leave things ambiguous in this period,” Macron said.