Noumea municipal police facade Photo: RNZ
A man in New Caledonia has been jailed for assault in what the prosecution claims was the result of anti-white racism.
The criminal court gave him a one-year prison sentence, six months of it suspended, for hitting his victim with a glass and a bottle after they had been drinking at a private home.
The territory's daily newspaper, Les Nouvelles Caledoniennes, reported that the assailant told the victim he should leave New Caledonia because he was white.
The paper quotes the head prosecutor as saying for the first time that the attack was clearly of a racist character.
He also said that in New Caledonian society anti-European racism appeared to be completely taboo while racism affects all communities.
The unnamed victim was not in court, reportedly for fear of reprisals.
