The situation has remained tense overnight in the outskirts of the New Caledonian capital Noumea after shootings at the weekend.
Six police officers were injured after being shot at by gunmen in clashes near St Louis, south of Noumea, which were triggered by the police's fatal shooting of a prison escapee on Saturday.
The road south of Noumea was closed for a third night and yesterday a warehouse a few hundred metres from the scene was burned.
In the afternoon, the driver of a truck clearing the road was robbed by masked youths and clearing work stopped.
The government has been in talks with the local community in a bid to restore order.
New Caledonia's Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre meets the outer Noumea skyline. Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades