Nuke Protests, Riots Continue French Call In More Police Officers To Calm Angry Tahitians

France ordered hundreds more police to this riot-torn island paradise Thursday after anti-nuclear and pro-independence protesters went on a rampage, setting fires, breaking windows and forcing the closing of the airport.

The rioting Wednesday night in Papeete, capital of French Polynesia, was the most violent of the demonstrations held worldwide to protest France’s resumption of nuclear testing in the South Pacific on Tuesday.

At least 13 people were injured in Papeete, including two policemen who were in serious condition, French officials said. At least 50 people were arrested and damage was estimated in he millions of dollars.

Firefighters doused the last of the blazes Thursday morning, although the airport remained closed. Many buildings had been firebombed, including Tahiti’s Territorial Assembly and part of the airport terminal. Shops were looted or burned.

French paratroopers and Foreign Legionnaires from the Mururoa Atoll test site landed at the airport Wednesday night, freeing 80 riot police to patrol downtown with hundreds of other police.

On Thursday the French military said another 300 police would be sent to Papeete.

Defense Minister Charles Millon, interviewed on Radio Monte Carlo, called for “the respect of the law and public order,” adding “I wish people didn’t confuse the right to demonstrate with rioting.”The government contends it needs to set off up to eight blasts to check its nuclear arsenal and develop computer simulation so future detonations won’t be necessary.Tuesday’s underground blast at Mururoa Atoll, 750 miles southeast of Papeete, was the first. Marc Launois, an official with France’s Atomic Energy Commission, said the next one would be in about three to five weeks.

The furor over French nuclear testing also has given a dramatic boost to French Polynesia’s small independence movement.

“The Polynesian people have been pacifists and calm for many years, for 17 years, and we’ve had enough of it, said Nelson Ortas, the chief adviser to independence leader Oscar Temaru. “If the other nations can’t help us, we’re going to have to go out on the street with our bare hands and try and do something.”