New Caledonia’s tourism industry is hopeful for a rebound as Air New Zealand resumed its flights over the weekend.

To mark Air New Zealand’s return, on its social networks, Nouméa-La Tontouta international airport posted a vibrant “Welcome Back to New Caledonia Air New Zealand, we are happy to welcome you back on our tarmac”.

The much-awaited resumption comes almost 18 months after the scheduled flights were interrupted following grave civil unrest that broke out mid-May 2024.

Air New Zealand ceased flights between Auckland and Nouméa, the French territory’s capital, on 15 June 2024, at the height of violent civil unrest.

It said at the time that regarding New Caledonia, the New Zealand government still recommended to “exercise increased caution” (Level 2 of 4) due to the “ongoing risk of civil unrest”.

The riots resulted in 14 deaths, more than 2.2 billion euros (NZ$4 billion) in damage, thousands of businesses and jobs destroyed and a sharp drop in the French Pacific territory’s GDP (-13.5 percent), bringing its economy to its knees.

Tourism from its main regional source markets, namely Australia and New Zealand, also came to a standstill.

Numbers collapsed
On New Zealand arrivals, between the first quarters of 2024 and 2025, visitor numbers collapsed by 90 percent (from 1731 to 186).

Latest statistics published by local institute ISEE confirmed the sharp drop, for the first quarter of 2025 — only 9670 arrivals, a record drop of 62 percent compared to the previous year.

This is the worst volume observed for the past 30 years (not including the covid pandemic period).

New Caledonia’s tourism stakeholders have welcomed the resumption of the service to and from New Zealand, saying this will allow the industry to launch fresh, targeted promotional campaigns on the New Zealand market.

New Caledonia’s international carrier Air Calédonie International (Air Calin) is also operating two weekly flights to Auckland from the Nouméa-La Tontouta international airport, in code-sharing mode.

Local authorities were also placing high hopes in the other key source market of the region — Australia. New Caledonia’s stakeholders are planning to launch significant promotional campaigns.

“Air New Zealand is resuming its Auckland-Nouméa service starting 1 November 2025. Initially, flights will operate once a week on a Saturday. This follows the New Zealand government’s decision to update its safe travel advisory level for New Caledonia.

“The resumption of services reflects our commitment to reconnecting New Zealand and New Caledonia, ensuring that travel is safe and reliable for our customers. We will continue to monitor this route closely.

“Passengers are encouraged to check the latest safe travel advisory and Air New Zealand’s official channels for updates on flight schedules,” the company stated.

“Political tensions and civil unrest may increase at short notice. Avoid all demonstrations, protests, and rallies as they have the potential to turn violent with little warning.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Figures for violence against women in New Caledonia have increased due to the post-riots crisis, according to local NGO SOS Violences president Anne-Marie Mestre.

Mestre has told local news media that the recent upsurge was mainly due to the riots over independence that broke out on May 13, which resulted in a rising number of jobless people due to the destruction by arson and looting of more 600 businesses.

She stressed that all ethnic communities in New Caledonia were affected by domestic violence and that the trend existed even before the riots-triggered crisis.

New Caledonia’s domestic violence statistics are 2.5 times higher than in mainland France.

In 2023, 3012 cases were reported in the French Pacific territory, a staggering increase of some 91 percent compared to 2019, the French Auditor-General’s office reported in its latest survey published in April 2024.

New Caledonia’s curfew extended to December 2
Meanwhile, New Caledonia’s curfew introduced after the rioting remains in place until December 2, according to the latest advisory from the French High Commission.

The restrictions still include the curfew per se from midnight to 5am, and most notably the ban on transportation, possession and sale of firearms and ammunition.

Public meetings remain banned in the Greater Nouméa Area and will be maintained until December 20, when the ban will be re-assessed with a possible relaxation just before Christmas.

Although opening hours for the sale of alcohol have now returned to normal, the authorised quantity per person per day remains controlled — up to four litres of beer (under 10 percent alcohol), or two litres of wine (10 to 22 percent), or one litre of spirits (above 22 percent).

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The voters in the second round of France’s national elections last weekend staved off an expected shift to the far-right. But the result in the Pacific territory Kanaky New Caledonia was also in many ways historic.

Of the two assembly representatives decided, a position fell on either side of the deep polarisation evident in the territory — one for loyalists, one for supporters of independence. But it is the independence side that will take the most from the result.

Turnout in the vote was remarkable, not only because of the violence in New Caledonia over recent months, which has curbed movement and public transport across the territory, but also because national elections have been seen particularly by independence parties as less relevant locally.

Not this time.

The two rounds of the elections saw voters arrive in droves, with 60 percent and 71 percent turnout respectively, compared to typically low levels of 35-40 percent in New Caledonia. Images showed long queues with many young people.

Voting was generally peaceful, although a blockade prevented voting in one Kanak commune during the first round.

After winning the first round, a hardline loyalist and independence candidate faced off in each constituency. The second round therefore presented a binary choice, effectively becoming a barometer of views around independence.

Sobering results for loyalists
While clearly not a referendum, it was the first chance to measure sentiment in this manner since the boycotted referendum in 2021, which had followed two independence votes narrowly favouring staying with France.

The resulting impasse about the future of the territory had erupted into violent protests in May this year, when President Emmanuel Macron sought unilaterally to broaden voter eligibility to the detriment of indigenous representation. Only Macron then called snap national elections.

These are sobering results for loyalists.

So the contest, as it unfolded in New Caledonia, represented high stakes for both sides.

In the event, loyalist Nicolas Metzdorf won 52.4 percent in the first constituency (Noumea and islands) over the independence candidate’s 47.6 percent. Independence candidate Emmanuel Tjibaou won 57.4 percent to the loyalist’s 42.6 percent in the second (Northern Province and outer suburbs of Noumea).

The results, a surprise even to independence leaders, were significant.

It is notable that in these national elections, all citizens are eligible to vote. Only local assembly elections apply the controversial voter eligibility provisions which provoked the current violence, provisions that advantage longstanding residents and thus indigenous independence supporters.

Independence parties’ success
Yet without the benefit of this restriction, independence parties won, securing a majority 53 percent (83,123 votes) to the loyalists’ 47 percent (72,897) of valid votes cast across the territory. They had won 43 percent and 47 percent in the two non-boycotted referendums.

Even in the constituency won by the loyalist, the independence candidate, daughter-in-law of early independence fighter Nidoïsh Naisseline, won 47 percent of the vote.

These are sobering results for loyalists.

Independence party candidate Emmanuel Tjibaou, 48, carried particular symbolism. The son of the assassinated founding father of the independence movement Jean-Marie Tjibaou, Emmanuel had eschewed politics to this point, instead taking on cultural roles including as head of the Kanak cultural development agency.

He is a galvanising figure for independence supporters.

Emmanuel Tjibaou is now the first independence assembly representative in 38 years. He won notwithstanding France redesigning the two constituencies in 1988 specifically to prevent an independence representative win by including part of mainly loyalist Noumea in each.

A loyalist stronghold has been broken.

Further strain on both sides
While both a loyalist and independence parliamentarian will now sit in Paris and represent their different perspectives, the result will further strain the two sides.

Pro-independence supporters will be energised by the strong performance and this will increase expectations, especially among the young. The responsibility on elders is heavy. Tjibaou described the vote as  “a call for help, a cry of hope”. He has urged a return to the path of dialogue.

At the same time, loyalists will be concerned by independence party success. Insecurity and fear, already sharpened by recent violence, may intensify. While he referred to the need for dialogue, Nicolas Metzdorf is known for his tough uncompromising line.

Paradoxically the ongoing violence means an increased reliance on France for the reconstruction that will be a vital underpinning for talks. Estimates for rebuilding have  exceeded 2 billion euros (NZ$3.6 billion), with more than 800 businesses, countless schools and houses attacked, many destroyed.

Yet France itself is reeling after the snap elections returned no clear winner. Three blocs are vying for power, and are divided within their own ranks over how government should be formed. While French presidents have had to “cohabit” with an assembly majority of the opposite persuasion three times before, never has a president faced no clear majority.

It will take time, perhaps months, for a workable solution to emerge, during which New Caledonia is hardly likely to take precedence.

As New Caledonia’s neighbours prepare to meet for the annual Pacific Islands Forum summit next month, all will be hoping that the main parties can soon overcome their deep differences and find a peaceful local way forward.

Denise Fisher is a visiting fellow at ANU’s Centre for European Studies. She was an Australian diplomat for 30 years, serving in Australian diplomatic missions as a political and economic policy analyst in many capitals. The Australian Consul-General in Noumea, New Caledonia (2001-2004), she is the author of France in the South Pacific: Power and Politics (2013).

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Riots in Kanaky New Caledonia claimed their 10th victim yesterday.

The death took place as a result of an exchange of fire between a group of rioters in the village of Saint Louis (near the capital Nouméa) and French gendarmes, local news media reported.

Nouméa Public Prosecutor Yves Dupas yesterday confirmed the incident and the fatality, saying the victim had opened fire on the French gendarmes, who then returned fire.

Gunfire exchanges had also been reported on the previous day, since French security forces had arrived on site.

A group of armed snipers were reported to have entered the Church of Saint Louis, including the victim who was reported to have opened fire, aiming at the gendarmes from that location.

The victim is described as the nephew of prominent pro-independence politician and local territorial Congress president Roch Wamytan.

Wamytan is also the Great Chief of Saint Louis and a prominent figure of the hard-line pro-independence party Union Calédonienne (UC).

On Sunday, during an election night live broadcast, he told public television NC la 1ère that “as the High Chief of Saint Louis and as President of the Congress, I find what is going on in Saint Louis really regrettable”.

“We will try to address the situation in the coming days,” he said.

On Sunday night, French gendarmes had to evacuate two resident religious sisters from the Saint Louis Marist Mission after armed rioters threatened them at gunpoint and ordered them to leave.

It is the 10th name on the official death toll since violent riots broke out in New Caledonia on May 13.

The toll includes two French gendarmes.

French security forces had launched an operation in Saint Louis on Tuesday in a bid to restore law and order and dismantle several roadblocks and barricades erected by rioters in this area, known to be a pro-independence stronghold.

Car jacking
Several other incidents of car jacking had also been reported near the Saint Louis mission over the past few days on this portion of the strategic road leading to the capital Nouméa.

The incidents have been described by victims as the stealing of vehicles, threats at gunpoint, humiliation of drivers and passengers, and — in some cases — burning the vehicles.

Some of the victims later declared they had been ordered to take off their clothes.

Nearby Mont-Dore Mayor Eddie Lecourieux strongly condemned the actions as “unspeakable” and “unjustifiable”.

On Tuesday evening, another incident involved the burning of one of the maritime ferries – used by many as an alternate means to reach Nouméa.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Police have used tear gas and stun grenades on rioters at an airport near Nouméa as the chaos in New Caledonia stretched into its sixth day.

Five people, including two police officers, have died and hundreds of people are injured amid clashes between authorities and pro-independence protesters.

They were sparked by anger at a proposed new law that would allow French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for more than 10 years to vote — which critics say will weaken the indigenous Kanak vote.

Last night, local media reported rioters on the field at Magenta Airport had thrown hammers and stones at police.

Officers responded with tear gas and stun grenades.

Police warned that if that was not enough to control the situation, the military was authorised to use lethal weapons.

Nouméa is under a nightly curfew, with anyone who violates it warned they could face six months in prison or a fine of up to 895,000 French Pacific francs (NZ$13,000).

A New Caledonia government crisis unit spokesperson said there was enough food in the country to last two months.

However, there was a restocking issue, with some roads impassable due to debris.

A 71-year-old woman who missed out on dialysis treatment this week due to the blockages has finally been transported to Nouméa by boat for treatment.

Meanwhile, cars have been set on fire at Dumbéa town hall. Mayor Yohann Lecourieux told the public television station NC La Première he was “worried about the future”.

Journalists attacked
La Première is strengthening security surrounding its journalists after an incident where a reporting team was attacked by about 20 hooded men.

A reporter said she and a camera operator were attacked yesterday morning near the centre of Nouméa.

The men ordered them to leave, then smashed the windows of their car, the reporter told AFP news agency.

They also snatched the camera operator’s camera from his hands and threatened him with a stone.

The journalists were not injured and were rescued by a passing motorist.

La Première news content director Olivier Gélin told AFP the station’s journalists would be accompanied by security agents until further notice.

“We will now take people to protect the teams during filming, in addition to the classic protections in this type of situation — helmets and bulletproof vests,” he said.

Meanwhile, Coralie Cochin said her husband, a reporter for AFP, was photographing the burnt ruins of a shop when a man started throwing rocks at him.

An intern who had been working with Cochin at the local media outlet, La Première, was also attacked yesterday.

She was also rescued by a passing motorist, but lost her belongings in the ordeal.

END FRENCH SETTLER COLONIALISM IN KANAKY, IN MELANESIA, IN PACIFICA !

WE’RE PEOPLE FROM PACIFICA! https://t.co/6rAyyHLycj

— Rsy (@rosymakalu) May 17, 2024

‘A complete war zone’
A resident of Portes de Fer, in the centre of Noumea, said it was terrifying to witness the chaos unfold.

Hari Simon told RNZ Pacific that businesses, houses, car companies and factories in the area had all been burnt.

It was “a very frightening scene punctuated by the sound of gunshots that broke the silence of the night,” he said.

There was “a threatening sense of danger looming in the air,” he said.

At night, people roamed the streets with guns, burning down buildings and exchanging fire with police officers.

However, since the arrival of the first batch of military police officers (gendarmes) on Wednesday, the situation had died down a little, he said.

Residents did not expect the violence to escalate so quickly and were caught off guard, he said.

“When we became fully aware of the gravity of the situation that Monday night and, more specifically in the early hours of Tuesday morning, road blocks had already been erected.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The suspected ringleaders of the unrest in New Caledonia have been placed in home detention and the social network TikTok has been banned as French security forces struggle to restore law and order.

The French territory faced its fourth day of severe rioting and unrest yesterday after protests erupted over proposed constitutional amendments.

Four people have now been confirmed dead, Charles Wea, a spokesperson for international relations for the president’s office, said.

The death toll has been revised today to five people after officials confirmed the death of a second police officer. However, RNZ Pacific understands it was an accidental killing which occurred as troops were preparing to leave barracks.

A newly introduced state of emergency has enabled suspected ringleaders to be placed in home detention, as well as a ban on Tiktok to be put in place.

French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc said Nouméa remained the “hottest spot” with some 3000-4000 rioters still in action on the streets of the capital Nouméa and another 5000 in the Greater Nouméa area.

Wea told RNZ Pacific the demonstrators “were very angry when their friends and families had been killed”.

‘Shops still closed’
“Shops are still closed. Many houses have been burnt. The international airport is closed, only military planes are allowed to land from Paris.”

Reports RNZ Pacific are receiving from the capital paint a dire picture. Shops are running out of food and hospitals are calling for blood donations.

Enforcing the state of emergency in New Caledonia.  Video: [in French] Caledonia TV

“This morning [Thursday] a few shops have been opened so people can buy some food to eat,” Wea said.

RNZ Pacific former news editor Walter Zweifel, who has been covering the French Pacific territory for over three decades, said New Caledonia had not seen unrest like this since the 1980s.

The number of guns circulating in the community was a major problem as people continued to carry firearms despite a government ban, he said.

“There are so many firearms in circulation, attempts to limit the number of weapons have been made over the years unsuccessfully.

“We are talking about roughly 100,000 arms or rifles in circulation in New Caledonia with a population of less than 300,000.”

More details about fatalities
One of the four people earlier reported dead was a French gendarme, who was reported to have been shot in the head.

“The other three are all Melanesians,” Le Franc said.

One was a 36-year-old Kanak man, another a 20-year-old man and the third was a 17-year-old girl.

The deaths occurred during a clash with one of the newly formed “civil defence” groups, who were carrying guns, Le Franc said.

“Those who have committed these crimes are assassins. They are individuals who have used firearms.

“Maintaining law and order is a matter for professionals, police and gendarmes.”

Le Franc added: “We will look for them and we will find them anyway, so I’m calling them to surrender right now . .. so that justice can take its course.”

‘Mafia-like, violent organisation’
French Home Affairs and Overseas minister Gérald Darmanin told public TV channel France 2 he had placed 10 leaders of the CCAT (an organisation linked to the pro-independence FLNKS movement and who Darmanin believed to be the main organiser of the riots) under home detention.

“This is a Mafia-like body which I do not amalgamate with political pro-independence parties . . . [CCAT] is a group that claims itself to be pro-independence and commits looting, murders and violence,” he said.

Similar measures would be taken against other presumed leaders over the course of the day [Thursday French time].

“I have numerous elements which show this is a Mafia-like, violent organisation that loots stores and shoots real bullets at [French] gendarmes, sets businesses on fire and attacks even pro-independence institutions,” Darmanin told France 2.

Massive reinforcements were to arrive shortly and the French state would “totally regain control”, he said.

The number of police and gendarmes on the ground would rise from 1700 to 2700 by Friday night.

Darmanin also said he would request that all legitimate political party leaders across the local spectrum be placed under the protection of police or special intervention group members.

Pointing fingers
Earlier on Thursday, speaking in Nouméa, Le Franc targeted the CCAT, saying there was no communication between the French State and CCAT, but that “we are currently trying to locate them”.

“This is a group of hooligans who wish to kill police, gendarmes. This has nothing to do with FLNKS political formations which are perfectly legitimate.

“But this CCAT structure is no longer relevant. Those who are at the helm of this cell are all responsible. They will have to answer to the courts,” he said.

However, CCAT has said it had called for calm.

Wea said the CCAT “did not tell the people to steal or break”.

The problem was that the French government “did not want to listen”, he said.

“The FLNKS has said for months not to go through with this bill.

France ‘not recognising responsibility’
“It is easy to say the CCAT are responsible, but the French government does not want to recognise their responsibility.”

Wea said he was hopeful for a peaceful resolution.

The FLNKS had always said that the next discussion with the French government would need to be around the continued management and organisation of the country for the next five years, he said.

The FLNKS also wanted to talk about the process of decolonisation.

“It is important to note that the [Pacific Islands Forum] and also the Melanesian Spearhead Group have always supported the independence of New Caledonia because independence is in the agenda of the United Nation.”

The Melanesian Spearhead Group and Vanuatu’s Prime Minister Charlot Salwai called on the French government to withdraw or annul the proposed constitutional amendments that sparked the civil unrest.

French President Emmanuel Macron said from Paris, where a meeting of a national defence council was now taking place every day, that he wished to hold a video conference with all of New Caledonia’s political leaders in order to assess the current situation.

But Wea said the problem was that “the French government don’t want to listen”.

“You cannot stop the Kanak people claiming freedom in their own country.”

He said concerns were mounting that Kanak people would “become a minority in their own country”.

That was why it was so important that the controversial constitutional amendments did not go any further, he said.

Economic impact
In the face of massive damage caused to the local economy, Southern Province President Sonia Backès has pleaded with French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal for a “special reconstruction fund” to be set up for New Caledonia’s businesses.

“The local Chamber of Commerce estimates that initial damage to our economy amounts to some 150 million euros [NZ$267 million],” she wrote.

All commercial flights in and out of Nouméa-La Tontouta International Airport remain cancelled.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

New Caledonians lined up in long queues outside shopping centres to buy supplies in the capital Nouméa today amid political unrest in the French territory

Demonstrations, marches and clashes with security forces erupted yesterday and French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told the public broadcaster he had called for reinforcements to maintain law and order.

The unrest comes amid proposed constitutional changes, which could strengthen voting rights for anti-independence supporters in New Caledonia.

A Nouméa resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told RNZ Pacific people had started “panic buying” in scenes reminiscent of the covid-19 pandemic.

“A lot of fire, violence . . . but it’s better. I stay safe at home. There are a lot of police and army. I want the government to put the action for the peace [sic].”

🔴 Nouméa et le grand Nouméa se réveillent après une nuit de saccages et d’affrontements. Suivez la situation en direct https://t.co/JtW8NWH7Hf pic.twitter.com/5XTbB2D3Z4

— NC La 1ère (@ncla1ere) May 13, 2024

Authorities have imposed a curfew for Nouméa and its surrounds, from 6pm tonight to 6am tomorrow.

Airports are closed due to protest action.

Dans le centre-ville de la capitale, c’est Nouméa ville-morte au matin du mardi 14 mai pic.twitter.com/kEM21XcsJi

— NC La 1ère (@ncla1ere) May 13, 2024

Public services and schools in the affected areas announced they were sending staff and students home on Monday, and that they would remain closed for the next few days.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, who is on a five-country Pacific mission this week, has cancelled his visit to New Caledonia due to the unrest.

Peters and a delegation of other ministers were due to visit the capital Nouméa later this week.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A pro-independence activist in New Caledonia is warning France to immediately halt its planned constitution amendments or face “war”.

The call for a u-turn follows proposed constitutional changes to voting rights which could push the number of eligible anti-independence voters up.

Pacific Independence Movement (le Mouvement des Océaniens indépendantistes) spokesperson Arnaud Chollet-Léakava was one of the thousands who took to the streets in Nouméa in protest last Saturday.

He told RNZ Pacific that tensions were high.

“We are here to tell them we must not make this mistake,” Chollet-Léakava said.

“Step by step, I think there will be war.”

A nearby counter-protest in Nouméa also had a large turnout.

Marseillaise du pacifique pic.twitter.com/OhuLO0AnHp

— Nicolas Metzdorf (@NicolasMetzdorf) April 13, 2024

People there wore the French flag, a contrast to the sea of blue, red, green and yellow representing the Kanak flag at the pro-independence rally.

Solange Ponija was one of thousands at the pro-independence rally in Nouméa.

The constitutional change — if pushed through — will tip the balance of voting power onto the French side, she said.

She feared the indigenous people of New Caledonia — the Kanak people — will lose in their fight for independence:

“They want to make us a minority . . .  it will make us a minority!

“The law will make the Kanaky people a minority because it will open the electoral body to other people who are not Kanaky and who will give their opinion on the accession of Caledonia to full sovereignty,” Ponija said.

‘Heading towards a civil war’
A French man who has lived in New Caledonia for two decades said independence or not, he just wanted peace.

The man — who wanted to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution — said he moved to New Caledonia knowing he would be living on colonised land.

Having experienced violence in 2019, the man begged both sides to be amicable.

“[It’s] very complicated and very serious because if the law is not withdrawn and passed. We are clearly heading towards a civil war,” he said.

“We hope for peace and we hope that we find a common agreement for both parties.

“People want peace and we don’t want to move towards war.”

The constitutional bill was endorsed by the French Senate on April 2.

The next stage is for the bill to be debated, which has been set down for May 13.

Then both the Senate and the National Assembly will gather in June to give the final stamp of approval.

This would allow any citizen who has lived in New Caledonia for at least 10 years to cast their vote at local elections.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

New Caledonia’s capital was on Saturday flooded by two simultaneous waves of French and Kanaky flags with two rival demonstrations in downtown Nouméa, only two streets away from each other and under heavy security surveillance.

The French High Commission in Nouméa provided an official count of the magnitude of the demonstrations.

It said the number of participants to the two marches was about 40,000 — 15 percent of New Caledonia’s population of 270,000.

The total was about equally divided between pro-France and pro-independence marchers.

This was described as the largest crowd since the quasi-civil war that erupted in New Caledonia in the 1980s.

Organisers of the marches claim as many as 58,000 (pro-independence) and 35,000 (pro-France).

One of the marches was organised by a pro-independence field action coordination committee (CCAT) close to Union Calédonienne (UC), one of the components of the pro-independence FLNKS umbrella.

The other was called by two pro-France parties, the Rassemblement and Les Loyalistes, who urged their supporters to make their voices heard.

Controversial constitutional amendment
Both marches were over a French proposed constitutional amendment which aims at changing the rules of voters eligibility for New Caledonia and to allow citizens who have been residing the for at least 10 uninterrupted years to cast their votes at local elections — for the three provincial assemblies and for the local Congress.

It is estimated the new system would open the door to about 25,000 more voters.

Until now, and since 1998 as prescribed by the 1998 Nouméa Accord, New Caledonia’s electoral roll for local elections was more restricted, as it only allowed citizens born or who had resided there before 1998 to vote in local elections.

The controversial text was endorsed, with amendments, by the French Senate (Upper House) on April 2.

As part of its legislative process, it is scheduled to be debated in the Lower House (National Assembly) on May 13 and then should again be put to the vote at the French Congress (a special gathering of both Upper and Lower Houses) sometime in June, with a required majority of three fifths.

The constitutional amendment, however, is designed to be interrupted if, at any time, New Caledonia’s leaders can produce an agreement on the French entity’s political future resulting from inclusive bipartisan talks.

But over the past months, those talks have stalled, even though French Home Affairs and Overseas Minister Gérald Darmanin — who initiated the Constitutional process — travelled to New Caledonia half a dozen times over the past 12 months.

The current legislative process also caused the postponement of New Caledonia’s provincial elections from May to mid-December “at the latest”.

‘Paris, hear our voice!’
In a tit-for-tat communications war, organisers on both sides also intended to send a strong message to sway Paris MPs from all sides of the political spectrum ahead of their debates.

New Caledonia’s pro-France parties were marching on Saturday in support of the constitutional amendment project, brandishing French tricolour flags, singing the French national anthem “La Marseillaise” and claiming “one man, one vote” on their banners.

Other banners read “This is our home!”, “No freedom without democracy!”, “Unfreeze is democracy” or “proud to be Caledonians, proud to be French”.

Les Loyalistes pro-France party leader Sonia Backès, in a brief speech, declared :”Paris, hear our voice”.

Nicolas Metzdorf, New Caledonia’s representative MP at the National Assembly, told local media: “It’s probably the largest demonstration that ever took place in New Caledonia . . . this gives us strength to pursue in our efforts to implement this electoral roll unfreezing. And the message I want to send to FLNKS is, ‘Don’t be afraid of us. We want to work with you, we want to build with you, but please stop the threats and the insults, it doesn’t help.”

‘Peace is at threat’ – Wamytan
The pro-independence march waved Kanaky flags in opposition to the constitutional amendment, saying this could make indigenous Kanaks a minority on their own land.

They are denouncing the whole process as being “forced” upon them by France and are asking for the constitutional amendment to be scrapped altogether.

Instead, they want a French high-level “dialogue mission” be sent to New Caledonia. It is suggested that speakers of both the National Assembly and the Senate should lead the mission.

“Peace is at threat because the (French) state is no longer impartial. It has touched a taboo and we must resist,” charismatic pro-independence eader and local Congress chair Roch Wamytan told the crowd, referring to the future of the indigenous Kanak people.

“Unfreezing this electoral roll is leading us to death.”

Wamytan is a prominent member of Union Calédonienne, which is one of the components of the multiparty pro-independence umbrella FLNKS.

Other members of the FLNKS group, PALIKA (Kanak Liberation Party) and UPM (Melanesian Progressive Union) parties have often expressed reservations about the UC-led confrontational approach and have consistently taken part in talks with Darmanin and other local parties.

Similarly, on the pro-French side (which did not associate itself with Saturday’s march), leader Philippe Gomès said they were concerned with the current confrontational and escalating atmosphere.

“Where is this going to lead us? Nowhere”, he told a press conference on Friday.

Gomès said the marches were a de facto admission that talks have failed.

He also called on Paris to send a dialogue mission to mediate between New Caledonia’s parties.

Security reinforcements had been sent from Paris to ensure that the two crowds did not come into contact at any stage.

No incident was reported and the two marches took place peacefully.

Darmanin at UN Decolonisation Committee
Meanwhile, on Friday, French minister Darmanin was to appear before the United Nations’ Special Decolonisation Committee as part of the regular monitoring of New Caledonia’s situation.

Before heading to New York UN headquarters, his entourage indicated that he wanted to underline France’s commitment for “respect of international law in New Caledonia” where a “legislative and constitutional process is currently underway to organise local elections under a new system”.

Darmanin maintains that New Caledonia’s electoral roll present restrictions, which were temporarily put in place as part of implementation of the 1998 Nouméa Accord, were no longer tenable under France’s democracy.

The proposed changes, still restrictive, are an attempt to restore “a minimum of democracy” in New Caledonia, he says.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Fresh clashes in New Caledonia have erupted in the suburbs of Nouméa between security forces and pro-independence protesters who oppose a nickel pact offering French assistance to salvage the industry.

The clashes, involving firearms, teargas and stone-throwing, went on for most of yesterday, blocking access roads to the capital Nouméa, as well as the nearby townships of Saint-Louis and Mont-Dore.

Traffic on the Route Provinciale 1 (RP1) was opened and closed several times, including when a squadron of French gendarmes intervened to secure the area by firing long-range teargas.

The day began with tyres being burnt on the road and then degenerated into violence from some balaclava-clad members of the protest group, who started throwing stones and sometimes using firearms and Molotov cocktails, authorities alleged.

Security forces said one of their motorbike officers, a woman, was assaulted and her vehicle was stolen.

Two of the protesters were reported to have been arrested for throwing stones.

Banners were deployed, some reading “Kanaky not for sale”, others demanding that New Caledonia’s President Louis Mapou (pro-independence) resign.

Northern mining sites also targeted
Other incidents took place in the northern town of La Foa, in the small mining village of Fonwhary, near a nickel extraction site, where Société Le Nickel trucks were not allowed to use the road.

Mont-Dore Mayor Eddy Lecourieux told local Radio Rythme Bleu they had the right to demonstrate, “but they could have done that peacefully”.

“Instead, there’s always someone who starts throwing stones.”

At dusk, the Saint-Louis and Mont-Dore areas were described as under control, but security forces, including armoured vehicles, were kept in place.

“On top of that, there are more marches scheduled for this weekend,” Lecourieux said.

Pro-independence protesters oppose current plans to have a French Constitutional amendment endorsed by France’s two houses of Parliament.

As a first step of this Parliamentary process, last week, the Senate endorsed the text, but with some amendments.

Opposing marches
Pro-France movements also want to march on the same day in support of the amendment.

If endorsed, it would allow French citizens to vote at New Caledonia’s local elections, provided they have been residing there for an uninterrupted 10 years.

Pro-independent parties, however, strongly oppose the project, saying this would be tantamount to making indigenous Kanaks a minority at local polls, and would open the door to a “recolonisation” of New Caledonia through demographics.

A similar high-risk configuration of two marches took place on March 28 in downtown Nouméa, with more than 500 French security forces deployed to keep both groups away from each other.

French authorities are understood to be holding meeting after meeting to fine-tune the security setup ahead of the weekend.

Florent Perrin, the president of Mont-Dore’s “Citizens’ Association”, told media local residents were being “taken hostage” and the unrest “must cease”.

He urged political authorities to “make decisions on all political and economic issues” New Caledonia currently faces.

Perrin called on the local population to remain calm, but invited them to “individually lodge complaints” based on “breach of freedom of circulation”.

“On our side too, tensions are beginning to run high, so we have to remain calm and not respond to those acts of provocation,” he said.

In return, France is asking that New Caledonia’s whole nickel industry should undergo a far-reaching slate of reforms in order to make nickel less expensive and therefore more attractive on the world market.

The pact aims to salvage New Caledonia’s embattled nickel industry and its three factories — one in the north of the main island, Koniambo (KNS), and two in the south, Société le Nickel (SLN), a subsidiary of French giant Eramet, and Prony Resources.

KNS’ nickel-processing operations were put in “sleep”, non-productive mode in February after its major financier, Anglo-Swiss Glencore, said it could no longer sustain losses totalling 14 billion euros (NZ$25 billion) over the past 10 years, and that it was now seeking an entity to buy its 49 percent shares.

The other two companies, SLN and Prony, are also facing huge debts and a severe risk of bankruptcy due to the new nickel conditions on the world market, now dominated by new players such as Indonesia, which produces a much cheaper and abundant metal.

New ultimatum from Northern Province
On Tuesday, Northern province President Paul Néaoutyine added further pressure by threatening to suspend all permits for mining activities in his province’s nine sites, where southern nickel companies are also extracting.

In a release, Néaoutyine made references to payment guarantees deadlines on April 10 that had not been honoured by SLN.

It is understood SLN’s owner, Eramet, was scheduled to meet in a general meeting in Paris later on Tuesday.

The French pact — France is also a stakeholder in Eramet — would also help SLN provide longer-term guarantees.

Southern province President and Les Loyalists (pro-France) party leader Sonia Backès alleged on Tuesday that Néaoutyine wants to do everything he can to shut down SLN and block the nickel pact

“Now things are very clear — before it was all undercover; now it’s out in the open,” she said.

“Now we will do everything to maintain SLN, because this means 3000 jobs at stake.”

Congress dragging its feet
Yesterday, New Caledonia’s Congress was holding a meeting behind closed doors to again discuss the French pact.

The Congress decided to postpone its decision and, instead, suggested setting up a “special committee” to further examine the pact and the condition it is tied to, and more generally, “the nickel industry’s current challenges”.

Opponents to the agreement mainly argue that it would pose a risk of “loss of sovereignty” for New Caledonia on its precious metal resource.

They also consider the nickel industry stake-holding companies are not committing enough and that, instead, New Caledonia’s government is asked to raise up to US$80 million (NZ$132 million), mainly by way of new taxes imposed on taxpayers.

Last week, a group of Congressmen, mostly from pro-independence Union Calédonienne, one of the four components of the pro-independence FLNKS, with the backing of one pro-France party, Avenir Ensemble, had a motion adopted to postpone one more time the signing of the pact.

President Mapou defies pro-independence MPs
President Louis Mapou, himself from the pro-independence side, urged the supporters of the motion to “let [him] sign” last week during a Congress public sitting.

“Let’s do it . . .  Authorise us to go at it . . .  What are you afraid of?” he said.

“Are we afraid of our militants?”

Mapou said if there was no swift Congress response and support to sign the pact, for which he himself had asked the Congress for endorsement, he would “take [his] responsibility” and go ahead anyway.

“I will honour the commitment I made to the French State.”

He said if they wanted to to sanction him with a motion of no confidence to go ahead. He was not afraid of this.

Mapou also told the pro-independence side in Congress that he believed they khad ept postponing any Congress decision “because you want to engage in negotiations as part of [New Caledonia’s] political agreements”.

Last week, Backès, who expressed open support for Mapou’s “courage”, told Radio Rythme Bleu she and Mapou had both received death threats.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The crowd — an estimated 2000 according to organisers, 500 according to police — had been called on Wednesday to voice their opposition to a French-planned constitutional amendment process which would include modification of New Caledonia’s electoral roll for local elections.

As the three French ministers were on official calls in various places, in downtown Nouméa police fired teargas to disperse the crowd.

Five policemen were reported to have been injured, including one seriously hit by rocks, the French High Commission stated, adding five protesters had been arrested shortly afterwards.

The protest had been organised by Union Calédonienne’s self-styled “field action coordinating cell” (Cellule de Coordination des actions de terrain, CCAT), which consists of trade union USTKE and UC’s close ally, the Labour Party.

UC is the largest single party within the mostly indigeous Kanak socialist and nationalist front (FLNKS).

Later on Wednesday, the crowd was dispersed and it moved out of downtown Nouméa.

“It’s completely out of the question to ‘unfreeze’ the electoral roll,” UC president Daniel Goa, who was part of the crowd, told local media.

Pro-France politician Nicolas Metzdorf said in a statement: “This kind of call to hatred, directly from UC . . . must stop. Violent protests will not halt the electoral roll being ‘unfrozen’.”

Regular visitor
French Home Affairs and Overseas Minister Gérald Darmanin, who is now regarded as a regular visitor, arrived on Tuesday and this time was flanked with his newly appointed “delegate” Minister for Overseas, Marie Guévenoux, as well as French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti.

This is Darmanin’s sixth visit to New Caledonia in the past 12 months.

In a polarised context, many attempts by Darmanin to bring all parties around the same table in order to all agree on a forward-looking agreement have so far failed.

His previous visits were focused on attempting to bring about inclusive talks concerning New Caledonia’s political future which could involve an amendment to the French Constitution.

The amendment contains sensitive issues, including a revision of New Caledonia’s list of eligible voters at local elections, with a 10-year minimum residency period for any French citizen to be able to cast their vote.

FLNKS’ 2 major wings — diverging views
While the two main components of FLNKS (UC and PALIKA-Kanak Liberation Party) last weekend held separate meetings and announced diverging approaches vis-à-vis France’s proposed reforms, the pro-independence umbrella FLNKS has now rescheduled its Congress for March 23.

Even though most local parties in New Caledonia have started to exchange views on the sensitive subject, one of the main components of the pro-independence front FLNKS, the largest party Union Calédonienne (UC), has so far refused to take part in the bipartisan round tables.

After convening UC’s steering committee in Houaïlou, UC vice-president Gilbert Tyuienon earlier this week told a press conference the party intended once again to hold a series of actions through its recently revived “field action coordinating cell” (CCAT).

“We have asked [the CCAT] and its young members to take all steps on the field,” he said.

The thinly veiled threat materialised on Wednesday with CCAT militants, including members of the Labour Party and union USTKE, deploying banners opposing to the planned Constitution review being placed in the capital Nouméa, also sometimes with roadside burning of tyres in the suburban town of Mont-Dore.

Tyuienon also claimed that UC considered French-promoted political talks were “a failure” and labelled Darmanin’s travel to New Caledonia as “yet another provocation” and that the proposed text was potentially “destabilising [New Caledonia’s political] balances”.

“There is a formal opposition from UC to meet the ministers . . . we know who is responsible for this situation,” Tyuienon told reporters.

He said UC now demanded that the whole French constitutional amendment project be scrapped altogether — “or else we’re heading for big trouble”.

More nuanced views
PALIKA, after its own meeting last weekend, expressed more nuanced views: “We are involved in every dialogue venue regarding all the document drafts that have been put on the table,” spokesman Jean-Pierre Djaïwe told a press conference on Monday following its extraordinary general assembly in Canala.

“We can only regret that every time we are taking part in discussions, not all of New Caledonia’s political groups are represented. Because our objective, from PALIKA’s point of view, is to reach an agreement comprising all political parties,” he said.

Djaïwe, however, said the current draft document “sided too much in favour of the (pro-French) parties”, which could “be detrimental to the conclusion of an agreement between local players”.

He indicated that PALIKA’s current stance would remain valid at least until the “end of March” — when the FLNKS Congress takes place — and “after that, it will decide on its strategy”.

Over the past months, PALIKA and other components of the pro-independence umbrella have consistently advised their members not to take part in UC’s CCAT-organised actions and protests.

However, Darmanin has already indicated that he did not intend to touch New Caledonia’s institutional and political future as he wanted “the neutral and impartial [French] State to only talk with local political parties once they have reached an agreement”.

His schedule did not seem to include New Caledonia’s nickel industry crisis either, following the announcement last week that one of its three major companies, in Koniambo (KNS), will now be placed under “care and maintenance” mode (effectively mothballed by its major Anglo-Swiss financier Glencore).

Glencore earlier this week confirmed it would withdraw after a six-month “transition” period, leaving more than 1200 workers and another 600 sub-contractors without work.

The company, which owns 49 percent of Koniambo’s stock, justified its move saying this operation over the past 10 years had never been either profitable or sustainable and had accumulated losses to the tune of a staggering 14 billion euros.

Climate change agenda
Instead, Darmanin’s official agenda includes visits to sites affected by climate change and coastal erosion as well as announcements regarding the reinforcement of road safety (with the introduction of new latest-generation speed radars thanks to a 200,000 euro grant, to reduce the high number of road accidents and fatalities in New Caledonia.

Justice Minister Dupond-Moretti said his visit was focused on meeting the local judiciary and bar, but also New Caledonia’s custom and traditional justice players.

He will also officially open a new detention centre in Koné and provide more details regarding the construction of a 500 million euro new jailhouse in the suburbs of Nouméa, which is due to replace the overpopulated and ageing Camp-Est prison, where living conditions for inmates have frequently been denounced by human rights organisations.

After his stay in New Caledonia (February 21-22), Darmanin’s Pacific trip is also to include this time a stopover in Australia later this week (February 23-24), where he is expected to meet cabinet ministers to talk about Pacific “regional cooperation” between the two countries, as well as about this year’s Olympic Games in France.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

In a major electoral upset, Kanak independence politician Robert Xowie has won one of Kanaky New Caledonia’s two seats in the French Senate in Paris.

His second-round electoral victory over Loyalist leader Sonia Backès came on September 24, the 170th anniversary of France’s annexation of its Pacific dependency.

Xowie is the Mayor of Lifou and a former provincial president in the outlying Loyalty Islands.

He will take his seat in Paris alongside Georges Naturel, the Mayor of Dumbea and a dissident member of Rassemblement-Les Républicains, who ran against the endorsed candidate of the conservative anti-independence party.

The two new senators will replace the incumbents Pierre Frogier, the Senator from Rassemblement-Les Républicains first elected in 2011, and Gérard Poadja of the Calédonie Ensemble party, who won his seat at the last poll in 2017.

Unlike the popular vote for deputies in the French National Assembly, Senators are elected by 578 New Caledonian MPs, provincial assembly members and local government delegates.

The unexpected victory of two new senators is a major success for the Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS), with the independence movement gaining a seat in the French Senate for the first time, while dealing a stinging blow to the Loyalist bloc.

Naturel elected in first round
In the first round of voting on Sunday, Naturel won his seat with a majority of 351 votes against Robert Xowie (259), Sonia Backès (225), Pierre Frogier (180), Gérard Poadja (48), Macate Wenehoua (6) and Manuel Millar (2).

In the second-round run-off, incumbents Frogier and Poadja and Manuel Millar withdrew their candidacies. Xowie faced off against Loyalist leader Sonia Backès, who already serves as President of New Caledonia’s Southern Province and as a minister for citizenship in the Borne government in Paris.

Given the FLNKS could only count on about 250 of the 578 possible voters, Xowie’s second-round score of 307 suggests that many anti-independence politicians and mayors backed him over Backès, who only won 246 votes in the run-off (the third candidate Wenehoua gained just 2 votes).

Local news media had suggested Backès would use her profile to win the seat, then hand it to her alternate Gil Brial while keeping her ministerial post — an arrogance that raises questions about her political judgement.

The election result is a major blow to Backès, who stood as a representative of French President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party and was publicly endorsed by France’s Overseas Minister Gérald Darmanin.

His support for Backès angered the FLNKS, who condemned the minister’s statement as a breach of the supposed impartiality that the French State often proclaims. This outcome reflects poorly on the Overseas Minister, who is due to travel again to Noumea in late October, hoping to advance negotiations over a new draft political statute for New Caledonia.

As a member of the independence party Union Calédonienne, Xowie will now be supported by his alternate Valentine Eurisouke of the Party of Kanak Liberation (Palika).

Crucial time in Paris
He takes up the Senate post alongside Georges Naturel at a crucial time in Paris, as President Macron plans revisions of the French Constitution in early 2024, to change the electoral rolls in New Caledonia before scheduled Congressional and Assembly elections next May.

As supporters and opponents of independence debate new structures to replace New Caledonia’s 1998 Noumea Accord, Xowie stressed the importance of his new post in Paris:

“It is important that when we are going to talk about constitutional revision, the debate takes place involving us. We have a chance to be able to present the views of the FLNKS directly in the plenary sessions.”

Nic Maclellan is a correspondent for the Suva-based Islands Business news magazine. Republished with the author’s permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

New Caledonia’s first round of the French National Assembly election has seen surprise advances of the pro-independence Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) whose two candidates both made it to next Sunday’s run-off round.

Wali Wahetra came second in the constituency made up of the anti-independence stronghold Noumea plus the mainly Kanak Loyalty Islands and the Isle of Pines.

Her success marks the first time in 15 years that an FLNKS candidate has qualified for the second round there.

“The goal was attained for the first round”, she said and thanked “those who think our struggle is legitimate and noble”.

Sunday’s voting was the first since the referendum on independence from France in December when the FLNKS boycotted the event, which then saw 96 percent vote against independence.

The election was open to all French citizens in New Caledonia, in contrast to the referendum, for which the roll was restricted to indigenous people and long-term residents.

Turnout was 33 percent, which was a one-percent drop over the previous National Assembly election in 2017.

Lift in independence vote
However, there was a slight lift in areas traditionally voting for independence because last time a key FLNKS party, the Caledonian Union, had called for abstaining.

With the joint FLNKS call to go out and vote, Wahetra secured 22 percent of the vote while the winner in the constituency Philippe Dunoyer got 41 percent.

Seeking re-election for another five-year term, Dunoyer stood for a newly formed Ensemble, which is a four-party coalition linked for the purpose of this election to French President Emmanuel Macron.

In the other constituency, encompassing the main island minus Noumea, the anti-independence candidate Nicolas Metzdorf won 34 percent of the vote, a narrow advantage over the FLNKS candidate Gerard Reignier with 33 percent.

Reignier said: “We gave us a goal of making it to the second round and we made it to the second round”.

Seventeen candidates contested Sunday’s election, including a former president Thierry Santa of the Rassemblement, which had historically been the key anti-independence party.

He won, however, just 22 percent, clearly distanced by Metzdorf and Reignier.

The Rassemblement’s other candidate, Virginie Ruffenach, also came third in her southern constituency, winning 14 percent of the vote.

Reacting to her defeat, Ruffenach urged her supporters to back Dunoyer in the run-off to ensure the anti-independence parties keep being represented in Paris.

Single candidate tactic
The success of the FLNKS has in part been explained by its member parties agreeing to run a single candidate in each of the two constituencies.

After shunning the referendum in December, it campaigned for the two seats in the hope of getting a representative elected to the French Assembly to have its quest for sovereignty heard.

The result also confirmed the political divide entrenched for years and largely along geographical and ethnic lines.

The polarisation is such that Reignier won more than 90 percent of votes in the northern electorates known for their pro-independence stance.

The anti-independence camp has been riven for years by varying rivalries but for the National Assembly election, four parties formed the Ensemble group, which Metzdorf considered to be a success.

Metzdorf, who is mayor of La Foa and the leader of Generations NC, joined as did Dunoyer of Caledonia Together Party, which had won both seats in 2017.

In the 2018 provincial election, Caledonia Together was weakened and the party leader, Philippe Gomes, who had held one of the two Paris seats for a decade, did not seek re-election this year.

First round victories hailed
Sonia Backes, who is the president of the Southern Province and the anti-independence politician representing the French president in New Caledonia, hailed the first-round victories of the Ensemble candidates.

She welcomed the support immediately expressed by the defeated Rassemblement politicians, saying there must be a united “loyalist” camp.

Backes added that perhaps the new French overseas minister might visit next week while the law commission of the French Senate will conduct a fact-finding mission in preparation of a new statute for New Caledonia.

Many candidates expressed concern about the low turnout, saying some thought has to be given to finding ways of engaging the public.

With campaigning resuming for next Sunday’s run-off, the two camps are aware that a large pool of voters could be mobilised on both sides.

The anti-independence side is however poised to bolster the support for its two candidates as the losing contenders in its ranks can add their backing for Dunoyer and Metzdorf.

This leaves scant hope for the FLNKS to win a seat in Paris — one of 577 on offer.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

As the French Pacific is gearing up for Sunday’s first round of the French presidential election, incumbent President Emmanuel Macron appears to be enjoying the most support among the 14 candidates.

Committees set up in support of Macron have been campaigning with the backing of those in power in New Caledonia and French Polynesia.

However, pro-independence parties have remained aloof, either declining to express a preference for any of the candidates or suggesting the election be ignored altogether.

However, pro-independence Palika has called on people to vote for “any Left politician” in the first round on Sunday.

Candidates include Marine Le Pen of the National Rally, who is running for a third time, Valerie Pecresse of the Republicans and Jean-Luc Melenchon, who heads the left-wing La France Insoumise movement.

In the 2017 election, Macron defeated Le Pen nationwide, winning 66 percent of the votes.

In Wallis and Futuna, his victory was even more decisive as he won almost 80 percent of the vote.

Smallest vote in New Caledonia
In French Polynesia, Macron won 58 percent, while in New Caledonia, his score was 52 percent.

With 48 percent voting for Le Pen, her score in New Caledonia was her best result of any French overseas territory.

In the Noumea area, which wants close links with Paris, she won more votes than Macron

Anti-independence side backs Macron
In the run-up to this year’s election, Noumea-based anti-independence politicians set up a Macron re-election committee, headed by Mayor Sonia Lagarde.

The committee was formed in December, weeks before Macron confirmed that he would stand for a second term, and just days after 96 percent voted against independence from France in a referendum boycotted by the pro-independence camp.

Lagarde hailed Macron’s support for New Caledonia as flawless, saying the referendum decision to stay with France was due to his commitment.

France’s fearful election. Video: Al Jazeera’s People and Power

After meeting Macron in Paris in January, the president of New Caledonia’s Southern Province, Sonia Backes, said she would also support him, praising his engagement as a key factor in winning the referendum.

In an interview this week, Backes said that in 2017 she abstained because she refused to vote for either Le Pen or Macron.

She said what had turned her off Macron was his declaration in Algeria, when he said colonialism was a crime against humanity.

Macron’s letters to Pacific territories
In recent weeks, Macron delivered open letters tailored to French overseas territories and outlining his achievements and policies.

He told New Caledonia that “France, the powerhouse of the Indo-Pacific, is destined to stay.

“Investments mean that the armies have been able to commit since 2017 and from which the armed forces in New Caledonia will benefit in the coming months.

“I want to accelerate this and complement it with new regional partnerships at the economic, scientific, academic and cultural levels.”

The make-up of the restricted electoral rolls in New Caledonia is enshrined in the French constitution but calls for change persist now that the anti-independence camp won the final referendum.

This is alarming indigenous Kanaks who still want to achieve their promised decolonisation.

“There will be no shortage of difficult topics — everyone is thinking about the thorny issue of the electorate. We all know the terms: Caledonian citizenship can and should be open to those who live it.

Citizenship of tomorrow?
“But who is a Caledonian? How should this citizenship of tomorrow work?,” he asked.

The left-wing candidate Melenchon has urged caution in New Caledonia, saying the outcome of last year’s referendum was a catastrophe.

He said the French government destroyed the consensus process of the accord by imposing last December’s referendum date and triggering a huge abstention by the pro-independence side.

Melenchon suggested keeping the 1998 Noumea Accord going for another decade.

The Republicans’ Valerie Pecresse said that if elected she would make New Caledonia a policy priority.

She said she would want accelerated discussions with New Caledonia’s leaders to prepare a roadmap on the territory’s future status within the French republic by December.

This would include revisiting the electoral rolls.

‘Respect, traditions and modernity’
Le Pen’s support committee in Noumea said its “programme is called ‘respect, traditions and modernity’. It is to give a voice to the people, to democracy, which is sorely lacking today.

“To get out of this incessant authoritarianism by repealing vaccine pass regulations, which are a major attack on freedom.”

Running for the top job for a third time, Le Pen said she wanted to create a full-time overseas ministry and fight against the high cost of living while developing the blue economy.

In his letter to French Polynesia, Macron again stated his geopolitical views.

“The Indo-Pacific strategy I wanted for France is a major step in our common history. Through you, France is present and alive in the Pacific,” he wrote.

“At the strategic level, the continuous increase in the resources of our armies will provide for this,” adding that “we must accentuate this military effort and, moreover, accompany it with new co-operation in the region.”

French Pacific nuclear legacy lingers
The compensation for victims of France’s nuclear weapons tests has continued to be a contentious issue in the relationship between Paris and Papeete.

Twenty-five years after the last test and more than a decade after France for the first time conceded that radiation had an impact on human health, Macron assured French Polynesians that France would try to find all those affected by the blasts.

“We are going to look for the victims and their beneficiaries. We will accompany them towards compensation. The road will still be long but there is a commitment which is irreversible,” he wrote.

“Because I want truth and transparency with you,” he added.

The ruling Tapura Huiraatira is officially supporting Macron, although in 2017 he was only the party’s third choice.

Then it backed the Republicans’ Alain Juppe in the primaries and after his elimination, the party supported Francois Fillon, who after also being eliminated, called for his support to go to Macron.

The Republicans’ Pecresse, who in Tahiti has the endorsement of veteran leader Gaston Flosse, promised to launch a major investigation in French Polynesia on nuclear weapons tests to reassess the compensation allocations.

She said if elected she would want to create an Overseas Bank, which would include several of the existing institutions, such as the current Development Bank.

Nuclear test legacy
Le Pen also addressed the nuclear test legacy, saying she would recognise the effects of the nuclear fallout and pay compensation for test victims.

She added that she would reimburse the expenses incurred by the CPS welfare agency.

Since 1995 the CPS has paid out US$800 million to treat a total of 10,000 people suffering from any of the 23 cancers recognised by law as being the result of radiation.

However, Paris has so far rejected calls to bear these costs.

The pro-independence Tavini Huiraatira party suggested to its supporters to abstain from voting.

Its leader Oscar Temaru said voters were free to choose but he said none of the candidates represented French Polynesia’s interests.

He said his party’s agreement with the Socialist Party of François Hollande had turned out to be a bad adventure because once in power the French side did not deliver on its promises.

The two top candidates will contest a run-off election two weeks later, with the winner becoming the President of France for five years.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

France has declared a health emergency in New Caledonia after covid-19 was detected in the community, RNZ Pacific reports.

The state of emergency was decreed by the French Prime Minister Jean Castex, effective immediately.

The decree, which is valid for a month, allows the authorities to impose restrictions, such as curfews or a lockdown — which the New Caledonian government had already imposed on Tuesday.

Southern province schools were also closed from Monday afternoon.

Today, a law is expected to pass in the French Senate to extend the health emergency in several French overseas territories, including New Caledonia and French Polynesia, to the middle of November.

A government statement said the pandemic had turned into a “health catastrophe” in New Caledonia because hospital capacity was limited, and people had made little use of the access to vaccines.

Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes reported today that there were 66 positive cases in the community after health authorities announced three on Monday night.

The government reported 16 covid-19 cases yesterday, but provincial and local authorities had warned the number was fast rising.

Medical experts in New Caledonia warned last month that the number of vaccinated people needed to be doubled within weeks, prompting the territorial government last Friday to make vaccinations compulsory for adults.

They also said the territory only had about one third of the number of nurses needed to be able to use the intensive care units available.

The virus is now said to be in wide circulation, and yesterday the public was told that in two to three weeks the hospitals would be full.

Until the latest outbreak on Monday, New Caledonia had recorded fewer than 140 covid-19 cases and there had been no fatality.

Since March 2020, the borders have been closed and people allowed to enter have had to spend two weeks in government-run isolation facilities.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz