Macron talks New Caledonia at Pacific-France summit
Photo:
Screenshot Présidence de la République française
French president Emmanuel Macron chaired a Pacific-France summit on Tuesday, in the margins of the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) held in Nice.
In his opening speech, the French head of state touched on several aspects of France's cooperation in the Pacific region, including in terms of environment, defence and geostrategy.
Pledging to maintain France's diplomacy "in very close connection with our common interests in the Pacific", including the recent opening of a new Embassy in Apia, Samoa, Macron acknowledged the "central" role played by the Pacific Islands Forum, which will receive about €2 million Euros as a contribution to the Pacific Resilient Facility fund for the region.
He also mentioned the opening of a project to introduce new air links connecting French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.
He also touched on France-Pacific cooperation at "strategic and military" levels, through a recently-created "Pacific Academy" and regular joint regional exercises in order to foster "common credibility to protect our zones and fight against illegal fishing".
High on the agenda were key issues such as climate change and its adverse effects on Pacific Island states on human lives and biodiversity, natural disasters affecting the region, breaches of sovereignty and security resulting from illegal fishing, and trans-regional crime, especially the rising problem of drug trafficking.
In terms of regional maritime security and fight against criminality, especially illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), France, but also Australia and New Zealand Navys are regularly contributing to patrols in the Pacific Islands Forum's Fisheries Agency (FFA) member states' exclusive economic zones (EEZs).
French gendarmes deployed in Dumbéa on 24 June 2024.
Photo:
NC la 1ère
Macron dedicated a significant part of his address to the situation in New Caledonia, one year after the
deadly riots that broke out in May 2024
(causing 14 deaths and and estimated €2.2 billion Euros in damages).
He told Pacific leaders he was aware of Pacific concerns about "the events that
destabilized New Caledonia a year ago
".
"I want to tell you here... The French state has respected its commitments made decades ago by organizing in recent years three referendums with United Nations observers which were validated and noted.
"But a year ago, violence broke out, triggered by several factors... which we took very seriously."
Macron said since then, France has unlocked "more than €3 billion Euros" for New Caledonia's economic reconstruction.
"And we have spared no effort with the government, in particular the Minister of State [Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls] to restore dialogue between all parties."
Since February Valls has managed to bring all of New Caledonia's political camps around the same table, something that had not happened since 2022.
But the proposal he
put on the table in early May
, during a behind-closed-doors "conclave", drew ire from parties in favour of New Caledonia remaining a part of France.
They objected, saying Valls' project failed to take into account that the three recent referendums had expressed a rejection of independence and that the Minister's "sovereignty with France" offer (including transfer of key powers from France to New Caledonia, a dual Kanaky-France citizenship and an international standing) was tantamount to some form of independence which they strongly objected to.
Photo:
Screenshot Présidence de la République française
On discussions about a resumption of talks to find a bipartisan and comprehensive agreement on the French Pacific territory's future political status, Macron also confirmed that he will "hold a summit in Paris in the coming weeks to bring together all stakeholders again and manage to come up with a new project".
Macron said after holding three referendums between 2018 and 2021 on New Caledonia's sovereignty, he was not in favour of holding yet another one.
"I must say I honestly believe Pacific, Oceanian or Melanesian cultures are more based on consultation and circularity, not really suited for referendums ...whereby you're supposed to express a clearcut yes or no."
"We will not make the same mistakes again in the future," Macron told Pacific islands leaders, including those from the three French Pacific territories of New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna.
He said building a political solution for New Caledonia was still work in progress "with a lot of humility, together".
And in this process, he told regional leaders "we welcome your advice" and "recommendations".
He mentioned and thanked Pacific Islands Forum leaders for a fact-finding mission that travelled to New Caledonia in late 2024 and gave rise to "very productive exchanges".
"We will do all we can to succeed and I am confident we'll do it with respect for everyone and for all (New) Caledonians, for peace, unity and stability in the region.
"But we are trying to hold this dialogue while respecting the various opinions and the principles of democracy."
During the same Pacific-France summit, Macron also held talks with leaders from Papua New Guinea, Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, the Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
The Pacific Islands Forum delegation was headed by its secretary-general Baron Waqa.
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