A court in New Caledonia has acquitted a Wallisian man, Laurent Vili, who was being tried for the murder of a Kanak man during the ethnic tension in Saint Louis in January 2002.
Mr Vili, who plays rugby for the French side Nimes, was accused of shooting a 26-year old Kanak, Jean-Marie Goyeta, during a gunfight between Kanaks and Wallisians.
Mr Goyeta was wounded and he died a month later in hospital.
The prosecution wanted Mr Vili to be given a five-year suspended jail sentence.
He had been arrested in France nearly six years ago and spent a year in jail as part of the investigation.
A policeman testifying in the case described the violence akin to the tension seen in Ivory Coast and Kosovo.