The shooting occurred in the eastern town of Thio as police were clearing a bridge, according to prosecutor Yves Dupas.

An officer was hit in the face by a rock and then police were shot at several times, Dupas said.

They shot back and wounded two protesters, one of whom died on his way to a hospital, he said, adding that “numerous investigations” have been opened into the incident and that he expected to announce more details later in the day.

In mid-July another alleged gunman was killed in similar circumstances, when police allegedly came under gunfire while clearing roadblocks in the Mont-Dore district outside the capital Noumea and shot back, killing a man.

Unrest broke out in mid-May in New Caledonia, almost 17,000km from Paris, over a planned expansion of the electoral roll that indigenous Kanak people fear would leave them in a permanent minority, crushing their hopes for independence.

Some barricaded roads and burned or looted cars, businesses and public buildings, prompting Paris to send thousands of troops and police in response.

The electoral change – which requires altering the French constitution – has effectively been in limbo since President Emmanuel Macron dissolved parliament for new elections that in July produced a lower house with no clear majority.

Arrests of pro-independence figures on June 19 has further stirred discontent and unrest.