France will send "around 1,000 additional security personnel" to the Pacific territory of New Caledonia, which has been hit by deadly riots in recent days, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said Thursday.

"The situation ... is still very tense, with looting, riots, arson and assaults that are intolerable and unspeakable," Attal said after meeting President Emmanuel Macron, adding that the reinforcements would join "1,700 staff already on the ground."