France bans election weekend rallies in New Caledonia
French authorities said gatherings in the Pacific territory of New Caledonia would be banned this weekend and a curfew extended, weeks after deadly riots and as the country prepares for high-stakes snap polls starting Sunday.  France is on tenterhooks ahead of a two-round vote which could see the anti-immigrant and Eurosceptic far right take the largest number of seats in parliament.  The first round takes place on Sunday, followed by a second round on July 7.  The High Commission, which represents the French state in the archipelago, announced a ban on gatherings from Saturday morning until Sunday evening in New Caledonia, which was hit by the deadly unrest last month.  In mid-May, rioting and looting erupted in New Caledonia over an electoral reform plan that Indigenous Kanak people feared would leave them in a permanent minority, putting independence hopes definitively out of reach.  The High Commission also said that the 8.00pm to 6.00am curfew in place since the start of the riots had been extended until July 8.  High Commissioner Louis Le Franc noted that the situation "had improved", but pointed out that public infrastructure had recently sustained "very serious damage."  More than 1,500 people have been arrested since the unrest began in New Caledonia.  The violence has left nine dead and damage estimated at more than 1.5 billion euros (US$1.6 billion). (AFP)