The standoff between the New Caledonian Union for Exploited and Kanak workers and police have reached new heights.
Several unionists were arrested and many more were questioned after violent clashed between striking unionists and police in January.
The unionists are awaiting trial, but now the union's leader, Gerard Jodar, refuses to be questioned and has barricaded himself into its headquaters.
Our Noumea correspondent, Claudine Wery, is at the scene.
"He is inside the building of the union and he doesn't want to get out of it. There're several policemen around the building and the're waiting for Mr Jodar to walk out of the building. But he doesn't want to. He says he has nothing to say and police don't want to hear him because he committed violence but because he's the president of the union. Right now, the building of the union is surrounded by tyres and there're many people belonging to the union who are monitoring the building, because they don't want police to get inside it."
Claudine Wery.
