France bans TikTok, deploys troops to quell deadly New Caledonia unrest

Pro-independence protesters have taken to the streets outside the Noumea courthouse in support of activists on trial for obstructing traffic and damaging property. [AFP]

France deployed troops to New Caledonia's ports and international airport, banned TikTok and imposed a state of emergency Thursday after three nights of clashes that have left four dead and hundreds wounded.

Pro-independence, largely Indigenous protests against a French plan to impose new voting rules on its Pacific archipelago have spiralled into the deadliest violence since the 1980s, with a police officer among several killed by gunfire.