The French government is poised to tighten gun ownership rules in New Caledonia after an outcry over a recent series of fatal shootings.
The overseas territories minister, Victorin Lurel, has told the National Assembly in Paris that a decree is being prepared which should come into force by the end of next month.
Mr Lurel made the annnouncement after being asked by a New Caledonian member, Philippe Gomes, for Paris to act.
Mr Gomes has pointed to eight killings with a gun in a year, which he says is a rate three times higher than in France.
He says while there are a number of reasons for this, the process to acquire a firearm was eased in 2009 which has seen a threefold increase in gun ownership.
Last month, a teenager died after a man fetched a rifle and started shooting people in Noumea.
