Pro-independence protesters have renewed violent demonstrations across New Caledonia after the detention of seven indigenous leaders and activists in mainland France, the High Commission of the Republic in New Caledonia announced on Monday.

Protesters set alight the municipal police station in Dumbéa, as well as police and private vehicles in surrounding areas. Firefighters were able to swiftly quell a blaze at Koumac town hall, while buildings in Paita, Nouméa and the islands of Pins and Maré were also targeted. Maré’s local police reportedly experienced attacks by protestors.

In a press release late on Monday, the French High Commission disclosed that hostilities and disturbances to public order were ongoing, but the situation was stabilising.

Among the seven detainees is Christian Tein, leader of the pro-independence group CCAT (Field Action Coordinating Cell), who voluntarily entered police custody on June 19 after a roundup resulting in 11 arrests. Tein and other activist leaders have rallied the New Caledonia indigenous population against a proposed constitutional amendment by France’s National Assembly to enfranchise French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for at least 10 years to vote in provincial elections, undoing the current electoral restrictions under the 1998 Nouméa Accord. Protesters are particularly concerned that the amendment will weaken indigenous voting power and impede New Caledonia’s independence.

Following the arrests, France pro-independence organisation Solidarité Kanaky released a statement condemning police targeting of the group: “In the current context, the criminalisation of CCAT and the searches carried out on the premises of the Union Calédonienne seek to discredit the Kanak independence movement as a whole, at the risk of aggravating a very chaotic situation.”

New Caledonia’s first round of elections is scheduled for June 30, with voting locations to be announced in the coming days.