Deadly riots erupted this week in New Caledonia, a French overseas territory in the South Pacific, leaving at least five dead and hundreds injured, according to French officials.

The outburst of violence was sparked by a bill approved by the French National Assembly in Paris that would expand voting rights in the archipelago to people who have lived there for 10 or more years. Critics argue that it could marginalize the Indigenous Kanak population. The constitutional change has not yet been adopted.