New Caledonia announced a curfew Tuesday and a ban on public gatherings after protests against proposed voting reforms in the French Pacific territory erupted into overnight riots, with vehicles torched and shops looted.

At least two car dealerships and a bottling factory in the capital Noumea were set on fire in arson attacks, an AFP journalist saw. Several supermarkets were also looted in Noumea and the neighboring towns of Dumbea and Mont-Dore.