France says will quell New Caledonia riots 'whatever the cost'

Noumea: French forces smashed through dozens of barricades in a bid to retake the main road to New Caledonia s airport and a top official said Sunday...

Noumea: French forces smashed through dozens of barricades in a bid to retake the main road to New Caledonia's airport and a top official said Sunday that Paris would reclaim all of the Pacific territory from pro-independence militants "whatever the cost".

After six nights of violence that have left six dead and hundreds injured, French government high commissioner Louis Le Franc warned in a televised address that new raids on independence strongholds would be staged.

"Republican order will be re-established whatever the cost," Le Franc said, adding that if separatists "want to use their arms, they will be risking the worst".

New Caledonia, with a population of about 270,000, has been convulsed by unrest since Monday, sparked by French plans to impose new rules that would give tens of thousands of non-indigenous residents voting rights.

The French territory off northeastern Australia has long been riven by pro-independence tensions. But this is the worst violence in decades.