A year after deadly riots, New Caledonia's president vows to address push for independence
Ponga, who was elected in January is an indigenous Kanak who is also anti-independence. The 49-year-old former nickel executive and mayor has vowed to get the economy back on track and support discussions on independence.
'We need to find a way out. We haven't spoken to each other for years, since the [independence] referendums. Now we're talking again. Everyone is aware of what's at stake,' Ponga said.
New Caledonia is a territory of France which lies in the Pacific Ocean. Ponga leads the Le Rassemblement party which wants to keep New Caledonia within France.
'Being president wasn't necessarily what I wanted. But I was appointed to solve problems. I take them one by one, without any preconceptions,' said the native of Kouaoua, a small mining village on the archipelago's east coast, where he had been mayor since 2014 before becoming president this year.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Guardian to mark the anniversary of the unrest, Ponga discussed the independence debate, economic crisis and how to rebuild the vital nickel industry. Ponga also said New Caledonia can play a bigger role in the region, and hopes to develop relationships with partners like Australia and New Zealand.
The unrest that broke out in the archipelago in May 2024 was sparked by French plans to change voting rules and inflamed tensions among Indigenous Kanak communities, who make up about 41% of the population. Fourteen people, mostly Kanak, were killed and the riots caused an estimated $2.4bn (€2.2bn) in damage. The crucial nickel industry and other businesses were severely disrupted and unemployment levels surged. One in five workers lost all or part of their income due to the riots and many remain unemployed.
Since the unrest broke out, more than 10,000 people have left the territory. For a region with a population of about 270,000, the drain has serious consequences. There is a shortage of doctors and nurses, and health services are under severe stress.
'We all need to face up to our responsibilities for what has happened and look to the future,' Ponga said.
'Even if calm has returned, without real economic recovery and tax reforms, we're dead. That's what my government is going to do,' he said.
A path toward independence continues to divide the population and the political conversation on the topic remains tense.
Under the terms of the Nouméa Accord, signed in 1998, Caledonians have had three referendums on independence from France. The referendums held in 2018, 2020 and 2021 all received 'no' votes – but results of the last referendum are disputed by the pro-independence movement.
Manuel Valls, the French Minister for overseas territories, visited Nouméa in April and May, with the hope of reaching an agreement between supporters of independence and pro-France figures on the road ahead.
Valls left the territory last week without striking a new deal. Certain proposals were seen as an open door to independence and provoked anger from pro-France supporters including Ponga, who took part in the crucial discussions.
Chosen by the party of loyalists to France to represent them, Ponga remains confident in New Caledonian's ability to reach an agreement in months ahead.
Ponga says that in the 1970s, the territory's elder were all in agreement. 'They wanted to get things moving so they could take charge of their lives, that was their emancipation strategy. You don't have to be an independentist to want to take responsibility for yourself. I'm not an independentist, but I'm still a Kanak.'
'Then the question of independence came along and blocked everything, and since then we've spent our time dancing around the table without doing anything.'
Reviving a weak economy remains one of Ponga's most immediate challenges.
Nickel is the lifeblood of the archipelago's economy yet two of the country's three metallurgical plants remain idle. Nickel produced in New Caledonia accounts for about 8% of the world's reserves, according to a report by the Overseas Institution of Issue (Ieom).
Ponga has a background as an executive in the nickel industry and says the territory's strategy toward this vital reserve has remained static and lacked flexibility.
'If we want to bring back investors, we're going to have to recreate the conditions of attractiveness. And that won't be possible without France,' he said.
To run the country's affairs during his term of office, Ponga intends to rely on 'the three values I taught my children: work, work and work'.
The president often refers to the land where he grew up, his roots. He proudly displays on his phone photos of his banana, yam and potato fields, where he and his children continue to work.
He also sees an opportunity for New Caledonia's influence in the region.
'We have an important role to play,' he asserts, when previous loyalist presidents were not very keen on opening up to the region.
'We've neglected the Pacific and our Melanesian neighbours too much. Yet New Zealand, Australia and France are partners, and we need to take advantage of these links to develop our own axes of relationship, doing things at our own level.'
'We need to assume our responsibilities and project ourselves forward.'
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