In the now deserted streets of the New Caledonian capital Nouméa, any stranger is considered hostile after dark. It's impossible to get around without coming across a barricade and getting aproval from the "neighborhood committees" that sprang up spontaneously in the early hours of the riots. They can be relatively relaxed or intimidating. Guns aren't shown off but are present at the vast majority of roadblocks.

By Wednesday, May 14, four people had been killed, including a gendarme who had suffered serious gunshot wounds to the head. Those killed in an unprecedented surge of violence were shot dead by their fellow citizens. "Probably by someone who was afraid," said High Commissioner Louis Le Franc, who's representing the state in the overseas territory, when announcing the first death. "Armed militias are forming to protect themselves. But the militias must also heed the call for calm," said the high commissioner at a press conference. A source told Le Monde that the first two dead were young Kanak men who were killed by Caldoches. Kanak are New Caledonia's indigenous people, while Caldoches is the name given to residents of the Pacific territory who came from mainland France.

The term "militia" brings up images of violence that struck the territory in the 1980s and is spreading fear throughout the predominantly Kanak neighborhoods. On instant messaging services, unverifiable rumors backed up by photos of pick-up trucks with smoked windows, speak of punitive expeditions in which young Kanaks are supposedly be hunted down. A verified video broadcast last night showed a white man deliberately shooting at two young Kanak men walking along the road in the Magenta district. The context is unknown, but its effect is devastating.

The term militia has been rejected by neighborhood committees, who present themselves as "vigilant neighbors" or civil defense groups. But the realities are in fact very disparate. In Mont-Coffyn, south of Nouméa, the blockade was set up in a hurry by a small group of residents, who had met on the neighborhood's Facebook discussion group. Located at the very top of a hill, the upscale neighborhood was untouched by the riots that have shaken the city since Monday evening. Residents in the neighborhood were finally convinced to secure the area after watching countless videos of looting and fires.

Caught by surprise, they improvised a roadblock by using a tree trunk, branches, a wheelbarrow and an old tire. Le Monde went through without much hassle. At the blockade, there was no equipment, not even a stick, as Jean-René (who wished to use his first name only) assured us. "We didn't want weapons here, because one, it's dangerous, and two, when you have weapons, incidents happen, sometimes serious ones, so we just want to be cautious."

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