‘We’re really torn’: New Caledonia turmoil forces French nationals to sail to safety in Australia

And so, it became home to Decramer, his wife, Maeva Zebrowski, who was born in New Caledonia, and their three young children. Their children enrolled in schools and the family found community in Nouméa.

But the turmoil that has erupted into violence this month has ended their New Caledonian homecoming. After less than a year, the family will, in coming days, pack their boat with the supplies that can be sourced and sail for Brisbane, Australia - 770 nautical miles, or about six days of sailing.

"It's clearly with a heavy heart that we're going to be leaving this place," Decramer says.

With Nouméa's international airport closed for commercial flights, leaving isn't an option for many people. Some governments have launched repatriation flights to take their nationals out of New Caledonia.

The latest unrest in New Caledonia, the French Pacific territory of 270,000 people, erupted over French plans to unfreeze electoral rolls for provincial elections - changes that would give tens of thousands of non-Indigenous residents voting rights.

Under the terms of the Nouméa accord, voting in provincial elections was restricted to people who had resided in New Caledonia before 1998 and their children. The measure was aimed at giving greater representation to the Indigenous Kanak population.

The Kanak people make up about 40% of New Caledonia's population and Kanak groups argue the new voting rules would dilute their vote.