Story by Patrick Decloitre of RNZ
More deaths have been reported in New Caledonia as the unrest spreads beyond Nouméa to rural areas.
The French territory has been under a state of emergency for six days due to riots sparked by a proposed law change which would allow more French residents of New Caledonia to vote. Protesters say the move would weaken the indigenous Kanak vote.
Local media reported a father died near the small rural town of Kaala-Gomen, about 355km away from the capital, on Saturday.
He had been trying to go beyond a road block set up by rioters, but was refused access, and shots were exchanged when he tried for the second time.
The man's son was with him at the time, local media reported.
Two other people were reported as injured during the shooting. They were rushed to the Northern Province's main hospital.
Meanwhile, a young motorcyclist was also reported dead after accidentally hitting a burnt vehicle in Nouméa on Friday night.
The crash occurred in the Vallée du Tir neighbourhood about 7pm, public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première reported.
Vallée du Tir is among the areas identified by French authorities as out of control and still being held by groups of rioters.
"We are once again calling on those blocking access: lift the blockades!" an emotional local government minister Vaimu'a Muliava told a press conference on Saturday.
"There have been deaths already ... every day that passes brings us deeper into the hole and makes it more difficult for us to recover."
He also called on rioters to restore free access so people could access medical care and food.
"Please everyone, think not just with your reasoning, but with your heart," he said.
"We just can't go on like this ... we are killing ourselves."
Muliava told the people on the barricades to imagine if it was their mother or grandmother in need of medical care.
Planes flown from France (but also from French Polynesia), described as an "air lift", were also carrying essential food, medical supplies and blood reserves.
Food rationing was enforced in most retail outlets, under supervision from neighbourhood watch "civil defence" groups who were ensuring consumers did not take too many essential items at the time.
On Friday, French High Commissioner Le Franc said there was sufficient food in stock to last two months - the issue was accessing shops and service stations.
He also said he had heard "a youngster died because he was playing with a gun", but did not provide further details.
"Nobody wins. We all lose, whether pro-independence or anti-independence. We die because roads are still blocked. Are we going to go on like this? No!"
Government spokesperson Gilbert Tyuienon said he was asking for the "restoration of peace".
"Everyone should pray on this Pentecost weekend and then next week let's start to work on our country's recovery, which is only possible if access is restored."
Police, gendarmes, firefighters and army reinforcements are gradually arriving in New Caledonia from France, as well as French Polynesia, to lift the blockades.
Once all of the reinforcements have arrived, the total number is expected to reach some 2700.
The French government also plans to send a "dialogue mission" to New Caledonia to restore trust between Paris and the South Pacific dependency.
RNZ
