Clashes have ensued across New Caledonia between French settlers and the indigenous Kanak people, organizing under the Socialist Kanak Liberation Front for total independence of the island from colonial rule. Barricades and French cars have been burnt across the islands, with Noumea being the site of significant clashes between indigenous youth and riot police.
Many fear a civil war impending, as the clashes were started by an irreversible action, with the corporate buyout of the 33 mines on the islands, which are the 4th largest producer of nickel on the planet. The decision enraged the indigenous people, who mostly owned the northern mines under the Kanak collective/cooperative called Sofinor.
