State of emergency in France amid unrest in New Caledonia

France has declared a state of emergency on the Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia after violent protests flared up against electoral reforms killing one police officer and three others, the Washington Post reported.

Notably, New Caledonia is a French overseas territory located hundreds of miles off Australia's eastern coast.

The violence -- the worst in decades -- is the latest flash point in long-running tensions over Paris' role in the archipelago.