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After consecutive nights of unrest, French authorities reported the first deaths on Wednesday, with a gendarmerie – a military police officer – among the four killed.
More than 300 people have been injured since Monday when protests against voting changes imposed by Paris turned violent.
Australia’s Smart Traveler has upgraded the advice for the Noumea metropolitan area to the second of four levels due to the protests and demonstrations.
Australians are advised to avoid demonstrations, public gatherings and road blockades as protests happen at short notice and can turn violent, it said.
According to DFAT, more than 300,000 Australians visited New Caledonia each year on cruises, figures show before the pandemic.
Holiday flights also depart from Australia
Qantas code share flights with Aircalin to Noumea.
Aircalin reported online that Sydney and Brisbane flights were canceled on Wednesday and Thursday, with La Tontouta Airport closed.
There have also been more than 130 arrests, French authorities said.
There have been decades of tension on the archipelago between the native Kanak, seeking independence, and the descendants of colonizers, who want to remain part of France.
After a two-hour security meeting on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) with French President Emmanuel Macron and senior ministers, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told parliament in Paris that the state of emergency would aim to “restore order in the shortest possible time”.
The French cabinet will consider a decree imposing the emergency measures on Wednesday afternoon, he said.
Reinforcements were sent to assist security forces battling violent protesters.
The interior ministry said 500 extra officers were expected within hours on the archipelago to reinforce the 1,800 police and gendarmes already there.
The unrest this week erupted when the French legislature in Paris debated amending the French constitution to make changes to electoral rolls in New Caledonia.
The National Assembly approved a bill on Wednesday that, among other changes, would allow residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years to vote in provincial elections.
Opponents say the measure will benefit pro-French politicians in New Caledonia and further marginalize the indigenous Kanak population.
They once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination.
The vast archipelago of about 270,000 people east of Australia is 10 time zones ahead of Paris.
From Macron on down, France’s government made repeated calls on Wednesday for an end to the violence.
The top French official in the territory, High Commissioner Louis Le Franc, warned of the possibility of “many deaths” if calm was not restored.
A police station was among dozens of places that were attacked with gunfire, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanen said.
Posting on X, he said a gendarme (military policeman) who had been shot was among the dead.
In Paris, Macron stressed the need for political dialogue.
New Caledonia’s rival political parties also jointly called for calm, saying in a statement: “We must continue to live together.”
New Caledonia’s curfew has been extended until Thursday.
Schools and the main airport remained closed, Le Franc said.
“The situation is not serious, it is very serious,” said Le Franc.
“We have entered a dangerous spiral, a deadly spiral.”
He said some residents in the capital and neighboring municipalities had formed “self-defense groups” to protect their homes and businesses.
New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III, Napoleon’s nephew and successor.
It became an overseas territory after World War II, and in 1957 all Kanaks were granted French citizenship.
A peace agreement between warring factions was reached in 1988.
A decade later, France promised to grant New Caledonia political power and broad autonomy and to hold up to three consecutive referendums.
The three referendums were held between 2018 and 2021 and the majority of voters chose to remain part of France rather than support independence.
Kanak independence supporters rejected the results of the latest referendum in 2021, which they boycotted because it was held in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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