PROTESTERS returned to the streets of New Caledonia today, burning police vehicles and blocking roads, as anger erupted over the extradition of a jailed independence leader to France.

French High Commission in Noumea said that protesters also set fire to the town hall in the Koumac commune and destroyed areas in Paita.

Christian Tein, an Indigenous Kanak leader, was flown to mainland France overnight on Saturday, along with six other activists.