There has been a call to expand the police force in the rural north of New Caledonia.
Noumea municipal police facade Photo: RNZ
Two New Caledonian members of France's legislature have approached the prime minister Edouard Philippe asking for additional units to be deployed to increase road safety and prevent youth crime.
The request was linked to concern over attacks on road users by disaffected youths.
Earlier this year, Paris sent 53 extra police officers to New Caledonia in response to last year's prolonged clashes in the Noumea area, which cut road access to the territory's south on a number of occasions for several days.