New Caledonia's Southern Province has decided to impose a nightly seven-hour curfew for those under the age of 18 as part of measures to reduce burglaries.
Gendarmerie in New Caledonia Photo: RNZ Walter Zweifel
The provincial assembly voted for the curfew which had been proposed jointly by the government and the public prosecutor to combat delinquency.
About 40 percent of break-ins in New Caledonia are committed by minors.
The assembly also decided to make parents of law-breaking children liable by allowing the authorities to withhold the financial allocation towards schooling.
It also decided to ease the restrictions on the sale of alcohol which from 1 June will again be sold at weekends.
The provincial government decided to release just under a million US dollars to help retailers set up separate outlets within their premises for the sale of alcohol.
There has been immediate criticism over the allocation given the general economic pressures.
Southern Province president Sonia Backes and public prosecutor Yves Dupas Photo: supplied FB