New Caledonia's leaders reach ‘historic' deal on French territory's future
The agreement allows residents of the territory to hold both French and New Caledonian nationality. It also sets out financial understandings with Paris to benefit the islands, located in the Pacific Ocean to the East of Australia.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou, who has made overseas territories a priority since taking office last year, described it as a "historic agreement".
Negotiations began in early July to draw up a shared vision for New Caledonia's future that will bridge deep divisions between the Indigenous Kanak population, who want more independence from Paris, and descendants of French settlers. In a post on X, Bayrou hailed the State of New Caledonia and paid tribute to the negotiators and specifically Manuel Valls, the French overseas minister.
A statement by the two parties quoted by FranceInfo described the agreement as the beginning of a "new era of stability by formally bringing New Caledonia into the French Republic".
Voting rights will be granted "to a large number of Caledonians and their partners," the text adds.
In May 2024, unrest erupted in New Caledonia after the French parliament proposed a constitutional revision of New Caledonia's electoral roll, which the archipelago's pro-independence groups saw as a move to undermine their political weight.
The violence left 14 dead, including 11 Kanaks, and caused an estimated €2 billion in damage.
Sonia Backes, the leader of the loyalists – descendants of French settlers – said that while the compromise "would not fully satisfy anyone" it provides a way out of "the spiral of violence, uncertainty and destruction".
"New Caledonian nationality takes nothing away from our membership of the Republic or our French nationality," she added.
The agreement still needs to be ratified by Caledonians with a local referendum.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euractiv
a day ago
- Euractiv
‘A slap in the face': EU leaders, industry reel from Trump's tariff shock
Donald Trump's announcement on Saturday of 30% tariffs on EU products has major implications for European economies, triggering a flurry of responses from national leaders and industries. The tariffs, which are a significant jump from the 10% baseline levy that is currently in place, are due to be effective from 1 August. Whilst the EU had previously indicated that it might be prepared to accept terms similar to those secured by the UK in May, the current "deal" has led stakeholders to reassess their stance. EU ambassadors will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday afternoon to discuss the response. But even on Saturday, reactions called for unity and stressed the bloc's trade strength – while urging Brussels to respond firmly to Washington's move. The US is the EU's top trading partner, with goods trade totalling €867 billion in 2024. Trump's letter is "impertinent and a slap in the face," said socialist MEP Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament's trade committee, adding that the EU had been negotiating intensely "for more than three weeks." He added that EU countermeasures "should come into force as planned on Monday, quickly followed by the second list." France shared a "very strong disapproval" of the announcement of 30% tariffs on EU exports, French President Emmanuel Macron said, adding that Brussels should adopt countermeasures if no agreement is reached by 1 August. "It is more than ever up to the Commission to assert the Union's determination to defend European interests resolutely," he added. Brussels has repeatedly delayed retaliatory action in hopes of reaching a negotiated solution – despite the EU already facing a blanket 10% tariff since April, alongside duties of 50% on steel and aluminium and 25% on cars and car parts. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the EU should use its collective single market strength to achieve a 'fair deal'. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – one of the few EU leaders to enjoy cordial relations with the Trump administration – said she still trusted the "goodwill of all players" to reach an agreement. "It would make no sense to trigger a trade clash between the two sides of the Atlantic," she said. Hungary, expectedly, lashed out at the European Commission for not having secured a deal yet. "EU tariffs on the US should've been lowered after Trump took office," Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said. Industry warns of severe losses German industry, which accounts for the largest share of EU exports to the US, was quick to react. "President Trump's announcement is a wake-up call for industry on both sides of the Atlantic," said the Federation of German Industries (BDI), in a statement quoted by AFP. The federation urged Berlin, the European Commission, and the US administration to "very quickly find solutions and avoid an escalation." Ongoing tariff threats have already driven German exports to the US down to their lowest level since March 2022, according to government data released last week. The EU's food and drink sector would also be among the hardest hit by a 30% tariff. Italy's wine association, UIV, said on Saturday that Trump's letter had written 'the darkest page in relations between the two historic allies.' The US is the largest export market for EU wines, accounting for 27% of export value and 21% of volume. If implemented, a 30% duty on wine would amount to an embargo on 80% of Italian wine exports, the group said. "At this point, the fate of us and of hundreds of thousands of jobs is tied to additional time, which will be crucial, because it is unthinkable to place these volumes of wine elsewhere in the short term," said UIV President Lamberto Frescobaldi. Alexandra Brzozowski contributed reporting. (ow)
Euractiv
a day ago
- Euractiv
New Caledonia's leaders reach ‘historic' deal on French territory's future
Political leaders in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia reached an agreement about the archipelago's future on Saturday. This includes the creation of a State of New Caledonia, which will be written into the French Constitution. The agreement allows residents of the territory to hold both French and New Caledonian nationality. It also sets out financial understandings with Paris to benefit the islands, located in the Pacific Ocean to the East of Australia. French Prime Minister François Bayrou, who has made overseas territories a priority since taking office last year, described it as a "historic agreement". Negotiations began in early July to draw up a shared vision for New Caledonia's future that will bridge deep divisions between the Indigenous Kanak population, who want more independence from Paris, and descendants of French settlers. In a post on X, Bayrou hailed the State of New Caledonia and paid tribute to the negotiators and specifically Manuel Valls, the French overseas minister. A statement by the two parties quoted by FranceInfo described the agreement as the beginning of a "new era of stability by formally bringing New Caledonia into the French Republic". Voting rights will be granted "to a large number of Caledonians and their partners," the text adds. In May 2024, unrest erupted in New Caledonia after the French parliament proposed a constitutional revision of New Caledonia's electoral roll, which the archipelago's pro-independence groups saw as a move to undermine their political weight. The violence left 14 dead, including 11 Kanaks, and caused an estimated €2 billion in damage. Sonia Backes, the leader of the loyalists – descendants of French settlers – said that while the compromise "would not fully satisfy anyone" it provides a way out of "the spiral of violence, uncertainty and destruction". "New Caledonian nationality takes nothing away from our membership of the Republic or our French nationality," she added. The agreement still needs to be ratified by Caledonians with a local referendum.
Euractiv
2 days ago
- Euractiv
Elon Musk's X under investigation in France over foreign influence allegations
The Paris public prosecutor's office has opened an official investigation into the US social media platform X and its leadership – including billionaire owner Elon Musk – over suspicions that its algorithm may be biased in favour of foreign influence. The cybercrime division of the Paris public prosecutor's office launched the investigation on 9 July – the same day X's CEO Linda Yaccarino resigned – following notifications received earlier this year. Inquiries into X and its leaders have been entrusted to the French military police by the public prosecutor's office, chief prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced in a press release on 11 July. Musk and X leaders are suspected of deliberately disrupting data processing and fraudulent data extraction "as part of organised crime", the press release further reads. In summer 2024, the Paris cybercrime unit arrested and sent Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov under house arrest in a highly-public case. Following incidents of X's AI model Grok producing antisemitic remarks and praising Adolf Hitler earlier this week, Poland asked the Commission's Tech chief Henna Virkkunen to act against the chatbot. In France, two French MPs to refer the case to Arcom, the country's content regulatory authority, on 10 July. Grok also expressed clear support for French far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen, which is reminiscent of Elon Musk's interventions in support of far-right leader Alice Weidel in Germany earlier this year. X did not answer to Euractiv's request for comment by the time of publication. (vib)
