21 May 2013

March against high cost of living in north of New Caledonia

1:49 pm on 21 May 2013

An estimated 2,500 people in the north of New Caledonia have taken to the streets in protest at the high cost of living.

The march in Kone was part of ongoing action launched as a so-called general strike last week that is poised to be extended to the Loyalty Islands next week.

Local radio reports that some schools in the north have stayed closed while the domestic airline has decided to halve the number of its daily flights until May the 30th.

A further meeting between the unions and the government is planned for tomorrow to see what progress has been made after last Friday's announcement that tariffs on food stuffs from non-European Union countries would be dropped.

The protest action was called after the unions accused the government of failing to implement reforms agreed to after unprecedented territory-wide demonstrations two years ago.