Unrest has broken out in New Caledonia’s capital amid protest action against the planned sale of Vale nickel plant continues.
Cars and tyres have been set on fire in central Noumea and at the port where there have been clashes between protestors and police using teargas.
Roadblocks have been set up in various parts of the Southern Province.
Vale held off finalising a sale after the French overseas minister last week organised roundtable discussions via videolink with those for or against the deal with a new consortium Prony Resources.
Opponents, who want Vale to instead accept a bid by the Northern Province’s Sofinor and its partner Korea Zinc, clashed with police yesterday when they broke up a roadblock near the Vale mine site.
Several politician have appealed to the French president Emmanuel Macron to intervene, warning of an imminent political, economic and social crisis.
Vale said it would shut the plant in a few weeks if a sale failed, which could trigger thousands of job losses.
Vale lost billions with its New Caledonia plant, which is the region’s costliest industrial installation.
