Police arrest New Caledonia pro-independence protest leader

FILE PHOTO: People demonstrate as French President Emmanuel Macron's motorcade drives past in Noumea, France's Pacific territory of New Caledonia on May 23, 2024. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

(Reuters) - Police in New Caledonia arrested protest leader Christian Tein on Wednesday at the headquarters of the biggest pro-independence political party, the Caledonian Union, as he prepared to hold a press conference, the party said in a statement.

Local media reported the arrest of eight people including Tein in a police operation on Wednesday morning which caused many businesses, shops and the Noumea town hall to close, out of concern of further unrest.