Emmanuel Macron has vowed to keep thousands of extra police officers on the streets of New Caledonia as he arrived in the French-ruled Pacific island trying to end deadly riots triggered by a contested electoral reform.
Six people have been killed in riots that have left a trail of looted shops and torched cars and businesses since they began more than a week ago.
The French government has sent hundreds of additional police to help bring the situation back under control.
With the island under a state of emergency, Mr Macron said on Thursday that the additional security totalling 3,000 personnel would remain, even during the Paris Olympics if required.
“In the coming hours and days, massive new operations will be scheduled where necessary, and republican order in its entirety will be re-established because there is no other choice,” the French president told political and business leaders on the island.
“I personally believe that the state of emergency should not be extended,” he said, adding it would be lifted only when protesters remove the roadblocks.