French court orders release of New Caledonia pro-independence leader

13/6/2025 6:33

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.