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RNZ News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
New Caledonia's FLNKS to reject France's Bougival project
The French-fostered Bougival project was signed on 12 July. Photo: AFP / Ludovic / Marin New Caledonia's pro-independence front, the FLNKS, is set to reject the French-fostered Bougival project, signed on 12 July, prompting its Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls to travel again next week. The FLNKS held its extraordinary meeting on Saturday with high on its agenda its much-awaited, albeit widely anticipated stance regarding the agreement signed near Paris one month ago. The meeting, in Mont-Dore (near Nouméa), is reported to have unanimously endorsed its rejection of the document, even though it has not yet made it official and hints at a statement on Tuesday (12 August). It was officially opened by FLNKS President Christian Téin via telephone from mainland France. He called on FLNKS militants to "clearly and unequivocally" reject the Bougival document which, he said, demonstrated "the administrating power's (France) contempt towards our struggle for recognition as the colonised people". He however called on the FLNKS to "remain open to dialogue", but only focusing on ways to obtain "full sovereignty" after bilateral talks only with the French State, not the opposing local political parties. Some of the mentioned deadlines, he said, were 24 September 2025 and eventually before the end of President Macron's mandate in April 2027. Téin was released from jail mid-June 2025 pending his trial on crime-related charges he still faces in relation to his alleged involvement in the May 2024 riots in New Caledonia. He was released under the condition that he does not return to New Caledonia for the time being. As leader of the CCAT (field action coordinating cell), he was jailed for one year in mainland France, but was elected President of FLNKS in absentia late August 2024. The CCAT was created by Union Calédonienne late 2023 to protest against a proposed French Constitutional amendment to alter voters' rules of eligibility at local elections. On 13 May 2024, the protests degenerated into fully-fledged riots and caused 14 dead, as well as over 2 billion Euros in material damage. In late August 2024 CCAT was admitted as one of the new components of FLNKS, just like a number of other organisations such as trade union USTKE, the Labour party and other smaller pro-independence movement components. Also late August 2024, in a de facto split, the two main moderate pillars of FLNKS, UPM and PALIKA, at the same time, distanced themselves from the pro-independence UC-dominated platform, materialising a persisting rift within the pro-independence umbrella. They asked their supporters to stay away from the riot-related violence, which also materialised through arson, looting and the destruction of hundreds of local businesses, causing in turn thousands of job losses. UPM and PALIKA once again did not take part in the latest FLNKS meeting at the weekend. Politicians who signed the Bougival agreement on 12 July 2025 held a joint meeting with the public on 6 August 2025. Photo: Supplied / UNI-PALIKA On 31 July, Union Calédonienne (UC), now the overarching component of FLNKS, with a larger hard-line base, set the tone when it "formally" denounced and rejected the Bougival document, labelling it a 'lure of sovereignty' and saying that "the fundamentals of our struggle and the principles of decolonisation are not there". UC's chairperson Emmanuel Tjibaou, who was FLNKS chief negotiator during the Bougival talks, said his signature on the document "didn't mean an acceptance on our part". He said he looked at this document as "temporary" and subject to further discussions. He argued with local reporters that he understood his signature on the document was merely a commitment that once back in Nouméa, he was to explain the text and then get -or not- the approval of the political base. He did not and was sanctioned: Tjibaou and every member of his negotiating team who signed the document on 12 July were since demoted and stripped of their mandate by FLNKS, until a new negotiating team is appointed, if required. In a simultaneous release, UC states that the Bougival text cannot be regarded as a balance between two visions, but rather a way of "maintaining New Caledonia French". "With the label of a 'State', a fundamental law (a de facto Constitution), the capacity to self-organise, an international recognition, this document is perceived as a project for an agreement to integrate (New Caledonia) into France under the guise of a decolonisation". UC is also critical of plans to extend the list of persons entitled to vote at New Caledonia's local elections, the very issue that triggered deadly and destructive riots in May 2024 because it is perceived by the Kanak movement as a way of "diluting" the indigenous vote. Considering current population trends and a fresh system of representation at the Congress that will allow more representatives from the Southern province (about three quarters of New Caledonia's population), UC said "in other words, it would be the non-independence (camp) who will have the power to authorise us -or not- to ask for our sovereignty". The document, mediated by French minister for Overseas Manuel Valls and under the Presidency of French Head of State Emmanuel Macron (who convened the Bougival meeting), came after ten days of intense negotiations between pro-France and pro-independence parties. It was signed by some 18 politicians representing New Caledonia's parties at the local Congress (Parliament). The signatures were perceived as a commitment from all signatories to support its general guidelines, including the proposed notion of a "State of New Caledonia" within France, a dual French/New Caledonian citizenship - provided future New Caledonian citizens are French nationals in the first place - and the transfer of some key powers (such as foreign affairs, provided it does not contradict France's key interests) from France to its Pacific entity. The text is described as a "project", a blueprint for an agreement that would shape New Caledonia's political future. It also envisages stronger powers for each of the three provinces (North, South and Loyalty Islands), especially in terms of revenue and tax collection. Parties who have signed the Bougival document and unreservedly pledged their support are: on the pro-France side, Les Loyalistes, Rassemblement-LR, Wallisian-based Eveil Océanien and Calédonie ensemble and on the pro-independence side, UNI-FLNKS (which comprises moderate parties UPM -Union Progressiste en Mélanésie- and PALIKA -Kanak Liberation Party-). Over the past four weeks, back in New Caledonia, all of these parties have played the game and defended the agreement. This involved numerous meetings - sometimes daily - and sessions with their respective supporters and militants, mostly to explain the contents of what was signed. Most of the leaders who have inked the text have also held lengthy interviews, in explanation mode, with local media. Last week, in a rarely seen event hosted by local business leaders, both pro-France (Les Loyalistes, Rassemblement-LR, Calédonie Ensemble) and moderate pro-independence parties (namely PALIKA and its leader Jean-Pierre Djaïwé) were all present together to take part in an interactive session with the general public to explain their respective reasons for defending the Bougival document. In the same spirit, pro-independence PALIKA leader Jean-Pierre Djaïwé, last Friday, in a lengthy interview, also told pro-France Radio Rythme Bleu the Bougival "compromise" could only work if both sides agreed to give and take. "You have delegations who want full sovereignty, others who want New Caledonia to remain part of France. So we have to find a middle position for everyone. So we agreed, all together, to choose an option of more shared sovereignty with France. This is what is called a 'bet on trust'. And it's what comes out of a respect for giving our word. Because in order to have trust, you need to keep your word", he said. "Of course, we have militants (in our party) who are asking questions, who are sceptical, who have reservations". "You cannot have an agreement that suits everyone. The (1988) Matignon Accord was also criticised (...) And we all know what happened to the one who signed (for FLNKS)", Djaïwé recalled. The signatory was the late Jean-Marie Tjibaou who, in 1988, shook hands with pro-France leader Jacques Lafleur to end half a decade of quasi civil war, also related to the independence issue. He and his closest associate, Yeiwéné Yeiwéné, were gunned down by a radical pro-independence militant, Djubeli Wéa, in 1989. Jean-Marie Tjibaou was the father of Emmanuel Tjibaou. Said Djaïwé: "Independence now is not possible. There is no independent country in this world. You always depend on someone, but you are sovereign when all key powers belong to you". "You can't have everything all at once. It's a gradual process. Full sovereignty means when all of the key powers are retroceded (by France) to New Caledonia. "Even if this means giving some of these powers (such as defence) back to France. Because if you have to monitor an Exclusive Economic Zone as large as mainland France, you might as well consider giving it back if you don't have the means", he explained in defence of the concept of "shared sovereignty". Djaïwé also referred to the three referendums on self-determination held between 2018 and 2021, which resulted in three rejections of independence (even though the last one, in December 2021, was largely boycotted by the pro-independence movement). "Democracy has been allowed to express itself, it has to be respected (...) Now we have to find a way to go further along our path to full sovereignty. But not by way of a 'yes or no' referendum. This is the job we have to do now through this Bougival agreement. It allows to have those signs of sovereignty such as this State of New Caledonia. Some say it is nothing but a window display exercise, but that can still evolve in the future and be later recognised by the international community", the moderate pro-independence leader told the local radio. Late July 2025, FLNKS president Christian Téin told French media the Bougival document was "far from being akin to full sovereignty". Téin said that during the days that led to the signing of the document in Bougival "the pressure" exerted on negotiators was "terrible". In the face of FLNKS's rejection, not only the pursuit of more negotiations, but also the drafting of necessary related documents (such as a "fundamental law" -a de facto constitution- for New Caledonia and other key documents such as the instruments to enshrine this in the French Constitution) are now increasingly regarded as potentially jeopardised. Djaïwé said now everyone was needed around the table to further refine what was signed in Paris because, he said, "this is an opportunity" that arises to clarify any misunderstanding or misconception when a "drafting committee" is held later this month. The committee is expected to write documents that will later be used to implement the Bougival guidelines in legal and constitutional terms, along the lines of the compromise that was found in July 2025. Djaïwé said there was no time to waste as another very real factor was French national politics with a fragile Parliament majority and the ever-looming threat of another motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister François Bayrou's current government in Paris. "If this happens, we don't know and this is a constraint we have to take into account. So we cannot go on playing like this, because at least this minister (Valls) has demonstrated he is determined to take New Caledonia somewhere with positive results. So we, all of us, must engage in the construction of our country. And we all have one thing in common: the love of our country." Between early 2022 and May 2024, numerous attempts (and half a dozen travels to Nouméa) to initiate inclusive talks among all political parties by Manuel Valls's predecessors (including Home Affairs and Overseas Minister Gérald Darmanin) also failed to eventuate, because Union Calédonienne had already and persistently refused to attend. The confrontation, which crystallised around a Constitutional project to amend the French Constitution to modify the list of eligible voters at local provincial elections, peaked into the riots that erupted on 13 May 2024. French Overseas Territories Minister Manuel Valls meets the press at the Haut-commissariat in Noumea to announce that no agreement has been reached between pro-independence and non-independence parties on the institutional future of New Caledonia at the end of 'conclave' discussions held at the Sheraton in Deva. Photo: AFP / Delphine Mayeur The latest political developments in New Caledonia on Sunday prompted Valls to swiftly issue a release. In advocacy mode, the former French prime minister said if this stance was to be formally confirmed by FLNKS, he "would regret that (FLNKS) chose to turn its back on the Bougival agreement, (even though) it was signed by its fully informed representatives". Valls also underlined that the FLNKS now has a "new configuration" following "the withdrawal of historic PALIKA and UPM parties". As in previous messages, he also stressed that the document is a "historic compromise" and "since February (2025) stems from months of labour, difficult exchanges with all delegations, including FLNKS's conducted by Emmanuel Tjibaou. Everyone put their signature". He said tTe document now required to be clarified and completed. "This is the very purpose of this drafting committee that I have suggested," he said, "to clarify the spirit" of the document, including what role and place the indigenous Kanak identity holds in New Caledonia's future society. He assured the indigenous people's roles and place were already widely recognised in the previous 1988 Matignon and even more in the 1998 Nouméa Accords, and that they remained fully valid and could not be questioned by the new document. Valls also announced he will be travelling once again to New Caledonia on the week "beginning 18 August" to "listen to all of those who refuse sterile confrontations" and "want to move forward together on the only possible path: the path of trust". These, he said, would include not only politicians, but also chiefly authorities, economic and social stakeholders, "as many (New) Caledonians as possible". "I am not giving up. My door remains open. Dialogue is the only way. But I'm saying one more time, directly: to refuse the agreement is to choose confrontation and let the situation rot away. "And this would be a failure for everyone. Without a compromise, no sustainable reconstruction, no real economic recovery, and social and health fractures will only worsen". Valls said he wanted to reassure the population that "we will not allow uncertainty to set in. The (French) State must guarantee for everyone the exercise of security and democracy, which cannot live under threats of violence." "I am determined to implement the Bougival Accord and its agenda, and to create the conditions for New Caledonia to finally recover the stability, peace, confidence and success it deserves," he added.
ABC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
New Caledonian President says it's time for 'democracy to do the talking' after historic Bougival Accord
New Caledonian President Alcide Ponga hopes the new Bougival Accord, which emerged after 10 days of gruelling talks in France, could offer a path to stability after what has been a political "rollercoaster ride" for the country. Since violence erupted across the French territory in May 2024 and claimed the lives of 14 people, the damage done is estimated to have cost New Caledonia two billion euros ($3.6 billion). Mr Ponga last spoke with ABC Pacific in March, as French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls flew in and out of the French territory, attempting to get pro-independence and French loyalists to agree. Four months later, the Bougival Accord was signed on July 12 at a meeting called by French President Emmanuel Macron. The French president met with New Caledonia's elected officials and state representatives in Paris to discuss an agreement aimed at granting the island more autonomy. ( AP: Pool Reuters ) By February 2026, a public referendum must be held. But it won't be a question of independence, but rather a vote to endorse the Accord. Mr Ponga told ABC Pacific it was "essential to reach an objective" and for the group of pro-independence and French loyalists to leave France with a plan. "Now is the time to let the democracy [do the] talking," he said. "It is our duty to do that because people in New Caledonia; they're waiting for us." While Mr Macron dubbed the proposed agreement "historic", Mr Ponga views it more as a "compromise" document than an agreement. "For me, if I was to put a title around this document, I would say that it's not [an] agreement from Bougival, it's compromised from Bougival." The Bougival Accord One of the headlines to come out of the proposed agreement was granting New Caledonia more autonomy. Creating a 'State of New Caledonia' within the French Republic, to be enshrined in the French Constitution Creating a 'State of New Caledonia' within the French Republic, to be enshrined in the French Constitution Introduce a Caledonian nationality, allowing Caledonians dual nationality Introduce a Caledonian nationality, allowing Caledonians dual nationality A special organic law (Loi Organique), will define the conditions for implementing the agreement A special organic law (Loi Organique), will define the conditions for implementing the agreement A fundamental law, which would be adopted by the Congress of New Caledonia, will outline New Caledonia's capacity for self-organisation A fundamental law, which would be adopted by the Congress of New Caledonia, will outline New Caledonia's capacity for self-organisation The provisions of the 1998 Noumea Accord that are not contrary to the Bougival Accord will remain in force The provisions of the 1998 Noumea Accord that are not contrary to the Bougival Accord will remain in force New Caledonians will vote on the Bougival Accord Under the agreement, France and New Caledonia's shared authority over foreign affairs would be handed over to the Government of New Caledonia. "We [are] talking about the relation, international relations, we can have more responsibility in New Caledonia to have agreements with regions here in the Pacific," Mr Ponga said. The agreement outlines that New Caledonia will conduct its diplomatic work "in accordance with the international commitments and the interests of France". "We will have to work on that with France to say, 'Ok guys, we [are] still French, but in some areas, New Caledonia can sign some relationship or some agreement'." The issue of voter eligibility was also pressure point when the deadly violence erupted last year. The Accord proposes to expand eligibility to those who have lived in New Caledonia for 15 years to the date of the next election will be eligible to vote. Mr Ponga believes expanding voter eligibility will help New Caledonia rebuild. "If we want to build [a] country, we need people, we need consumers," he said. "We need produce. We need people to pay tax. We need people to plant yam or salad, tomatoes, potatoes. "You need people to make [the] economy great again; I'm not American guy. Make [the] economy in New Caledonia great again." Mr Ponga made his early career in the nickel industry before going into politics, and believes the industry will also play a key role in rebuilding New Caledonia's economy. The Accord outlines an economic pact that would facilitate the export of nickel ore as part of a "renewed nickel doctrine". The President told ABC Pacific that New Caledonia needed to create a "good atmosphere" for investment rather than relying on France for money. "If we put on the table the good regulatory, you can make investors want to come to New Caledonia and put money on nickel, money on energy, put money on blue economy." But Mr Ponga recognises that there is some convincing to do for the Accord to be passed. "We are different community, but we have to create one country and to make our country improve economically."
Scoop
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
New Caledonia's Oldest Pro-Independence Party Denounces 'Bougival' Deal
, Correspondent French Pacific Desk New Caledonia's oldest pro-independence party, the Union Calédonienne (UC), on Thursday officially rejected a political agreement signed in Paris last month. The text, bearing the signatures of all of New Caledonia's political parties represented at the local Congress, a total of 18 leaders, both pro-France and pro-independence, is described as a "project" for an agreement that would shape New Caledonia's political future. Since it was signed in the city of Bougival (West of Paris) on 12 July, after ten days of intense negotiations, it has been dubbed a "bet on trust" and has been described by French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls as a commitment from all signing parties to report to their respective bases and explain its contents. The Bougival document involves a series of measures and recognition by France of New Caledonia as a "State" which could become empowered with its own international relations and foreign affairs, provided they do not contradict France's key interests. It also envisages a double citizenship - French and New Caledonian - provided future New Caledonian citizens are French nationals in the first place. It also describes a future devotion of stronger powers for each of the three provinces (North, South and Loyalty Islands), especially in terms of tax collection. Since it was published, the document, bearing a commitment to defend the text "as is", was hailed as "innovative" and "historic". New Caledonia's leaders have started to hold regular meetings - sometimes daily - and sessions with their respective supporters and militants, mostly to explain the contents of what they have signed. The meetings were held by most pro-France parties and within the pro-independence camp, the two main moderate parties, UPM (Union Progressiste en Mélanésie) and PALIKA (Kanak Liberation Party). Over the past two weeks, all of these parties have strived to defend the agreement, which is sometimes described as a Memorandum of Agreement or a roadmap for future changes in New Caledonia. Most of the leaders who have inked the text have also held lengthy interviews, in explanation mode, with local media. Parties who have unreservedly pledged their support to and have signed the Bougival document are: on the pro-France side, Les Loyalistes, Rassemblement-LR, Wallisian-based Eveil océanien and Calédonie ensemble and on the pro-independence side, UNI-FLNKS (which comprises UPM and PALIKA). But one of the main components of the pro-independence movement, the FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) and its main pillar, the Union Calédonienne, have held a series of meetings at different levels, indicating their resentment of their negotiators signing the contested document. UC held its executive committee on 21 July, its steering committee on 26 July, and FLNKS convened its political bureau on 23 July. A 'lure of sovereignty' All of these meetings concluded in an increasingly clear rejection of the Bougival document. Speaking at a news conference on Thursday in Nouméa, UC leaders made it clear that they "formally reject" the agreement because, in their view, it is a "lure of sovereignty" and does not guarantee neither real sovereignty nor political balance. FLNKS chief negotiator Emmanuel Tjibaou, who is also UC's chair, told local reporters he understood his signature on the document meant a commitment to return to New Caledonia, explain the text and obtain the approval of the political base. "I didn't have a mandate to sign a political agreement, my mandate was to register the talks and bring them back to our people so that a decision can be didn't mean an acceptance on our part", he said, mentioning a "temporary" document subject to further discussions. Tjibaou said some amendments his delegation had put on the table in Bougival "went missing" in the final text. 'Bougival, it's over' "As far as we're concerned, Bougival, it's over", UC vice-president Mickaël Forrest said. He said the time was now to move onto a "post-Bougival phase". Meanwhile, the FLNKS also consulted its own "constitutionalists" to obtain legal advice and interpretation on the document. In a release associated with Thursday's media conference, UC states that the Bougival text cannot be regarded as a balance between two visions, but rather a way of "maintaining New Caledonia French". The text, UC said, has led the political dialogue into a "new impasse" and it leaves several questions unanswered. "With the denomination of a 'State', a fundamental law (a de facto Constitution), the capacity to self-organise, an international recognition, this document is perceived as a project for an agreement to integrate (New Caledonia) into France under the guise of a decolonisation". "But the FLNKS has never accepted a status of autonomy within France, but an external decolonisation by means of accession to full sovereignty (which) grants us the right to choose our inter-dependencies", the release states. The pro-independence party also criticises plans to enlarge the list of persons entitled to vote at New Caledonia's local elections, the very issue that triggered deadly and destructive riots in May 2024. It is also critical of a proposed mechanism that would require a vote at the Congress with a minimum majority of 64 percent (two thirds) before any future powers can be requested for transfer from France to New Caledonia. Assuming that current population trends and a fresh system of representation at the Congress will allow more representatives from the Southern province (about three quarters of New Caledonia's population), UC said "in other words, it would be the non-independence (camp) who will have the power to authorise us -or not- to ask for our sovereignty". They party confirmed that it had "formally rejected the Bougival project of agreement as it stands" following a decision made by its steering committee on 26 July "Since the fundamentals of our struggle and the principles of decolonisation are not there". Negotiators no longer mandated The decision also means that every member of its negotiating team who signed the document on 12 July is now de facto demoted and no longer mandated by the party, until a new negotiating team is appointed, if required. "Union Calédonienne remains mobilised to arrive at a political agreement that takes into account the achievement of a trajectory towards full sovereignty". On Tuesday, FLNKS president Christian Téin, as an invited guest of Corsica's "Nazione" pro-independence movement, told French media he declared himself "individually against" the Bougival document, adding this was "far from being akin to full sovereignty". Téin said that during the days that lead to the signing of the document in Bougival "the pressure" exerted on negotiators was "terrible". He said the result was that due to "excessive force" applied by "France's representatives", the final text's content "looks like it is the French State and right-wing people who will decide the (indigenous) Kanak people's future". Facing crime-related charges, Téin is awaiting his trial, but was released from jail, under the condition that he does not return to New Caledonia. The leader of a CCAT (field action coordinating cell) created by Union Calédonienne late 2023 to protest against a proposed French Constitutional amendment to alter voters' rules of eligibility at local elections, was jailed for one year in mainland France, but was elected President of FLNKS in absentia late August 2024. CCAT, meanwhile, was admitted as one of the new components of FLNKS. In a de facto split, the two main moderate pillars of FLNKS, UPM and PALIKA, at the same time, distanced themselves from the pro-independence UC-dominated platform, materialising a rift within the pro-independence umbrella. The FLNKS is scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting on 9 August 2025 (it was initially scheduled to be held on 2 August), to "highlight the prospects of the pursuit of dialogue through a repositioning of the pro-independence movement's political orientations". Valls: 'I'm not giving up' Reacting to the latest UC statements, Valls told French media he called UC "on a great sense of responsibility". "If tomorrow there was to be no agreement, it would mean the future, hope, would be put into question. Investment, including for the nickel mining industry, would no longer be possible." "I'm not giving up. Union Calédonienne has chosen to reject, as it stands, the Bougival accord project. I take note of this, but I profoundly regret this position." "An institutional void would be a disaster for [New Caledonia]. It would be a prolonged uncertainty, the risk of further instability, the return of violence," he said. "But my door is not closed and I remain available for dialogue at all times. Impasse is not an option." Valls said the Bougival document was "'neither someone's victory on another one, nor an imposed text: it was build day after day, with partners around the table, following months of long discussions." In a recent letter specifically sent to Union Calédonienne, the French former Prime Minister suggested the creation of an editorial committee to start drafting future-shaping documents for New Caledonia, such as its "fundamental law", akin to a Constitution for New Caledonia. Valls also stressed France's financial assistance to New Caledonia, which last year totalled around €3 billion because of the costs associated to the May 2024 riots. The riots caused 14 dead, hundreds of injured and an estimated financial cost of more than €2 billion in material damage.
LeMonde
20-07-2025
- Business
- LeMonde
'In New Caledonia, the French state is signing a check for reconstruction and securing a lasting attachment with France'
"Betting on trust" is the title of the agreement reached on July 12 in Bougival, on the outskirts of Paris, between the French state and political partners from New Caledonia. Eighteen New Caledonian representatives from across the political spectrum signed a document with Manuel Valls, the minister for overseas territories, that is riddled with ambiguities and unspoken elements. The text is designed to succeed the [1998] Nouméa Accord. It redefines relations between the French state and the archipelago, which becomes the "State of New Caledonia," a human and geographic entity that remains under French oversight. Still at the draft stage, the effective implementation of the agreement will require not only the approval of New Caledonian citizens, but also of French lawmakers, who, starting in the autumn, will be called on to legislate to postpone the provincial elections and integrate this contractual agreement into the institutional legal framework. The text is a bold bet on the malleability of French law and the flexibility of elected officials. It is a gamble that could prove risky, especially for [Indigenous] Kanak youth, for whom it offers little more than a substitute for statehood as their future horizon. After outlining the key principles driving it, the agreement rests on two pillars: the future institutional framework and economic support. The latter was certainly decisive in reaching consensus. The rescue plan for the nickel mining industry, cleaning up public finances, the gradual and conditional easing of debt, and restoring the social welfare system's accounts all played a significant role in the negotiations. Although all these areas fall under the exclusive authority of New Caledonia, the French state is signing a check for the country's reconstruction and, in return, securing New Caledonia's long-term attachment to France. Russian doll model This will require unprecedented adjustments. Until now, the exceptions to the principles of a unified and indivisible French Republic imposed by the Nouméa Accord were tolerated, if not accepted, due to the "transitional" nature of Title XIII of the French Constitution, which is dedicated to New Caledonia. By contrast, permanently enshrining the "State of New Caledonia" in the Constitution could create real legal challenges. The constitutional authorities will need to address this.
Scoop
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
New Caledonia's Politicians To Get Police Protection Following Death Threats
, Correspondent French Pacific Desk New Caledonian politicians who inked their commitment to a deal with France on 12 July will be offered special police protection, following threats uttered especially on social networks. The group to benefit from such measures includes almost twenty members of New Caledonia's parties, both pro-France and pro-independence, who took part in deal-breaking negotiations with the French State that ended on 12 July 2025, and a joint commitment regarding New Caledonia's political future. The endorsed document envisages a roadmap in the coming months to turn New Caledonia into a "State", but within the French realm. It is what some legal experts have sometimes referred to as "a State within the State", while others saying this was tantamount to pushing the French Constitution to its very limits. The document is a commitment by all signatories that, from now on, they will stick to their respective positions. The tense but conclusive negotiations took place behind closed doors in a hotel in the small city of Bougival, near Paris, under talks driven by French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls and a team of high-level French government representatives and advisors. It followed Valls's several unsuccessful attempts, earlier this year, to reach a consensus between parties who want New Caledonia to remain part of France and others representing the pro-independence movement. Necessary concessions from both sides But to reach a compromise agreement, both sides have had to make concessions. The pro-French parties, for instance, have had to endorse the notion of a State of New Caledonia or that of a double French-New Caledonian nationality. Pro-independence parties have had to accept the plan to modify the rules of eligibility to vote at local elections so as to allow more non-native French nationals to join the local electoral roll. They also had to postpone or even give up on the hard-line full sovereignty demand for now. Over the past five years and after a series of three referendums (held between 2018 and 2021) on self-determination, both camps have increasingly radicalised. This resulted in destructive and deadly riots that broke out in May 2024, resulting in 14 deaths, over €2 billion in material damage, thousands of jobless and the destruction of hundreds of businesses. Over one year later, the atmosphere in New Caledonia remains marked by a sense of tension, fear, uncertainty on both sides of the political chessboard. Since the deal was signed and made public, on 12 July, and even before flying back to New Caledonia, all parties have been targeted by a wide range of reactions from their militant bases, especially on social media. Some of the reactions have included thinly-veiled death threats in response to a perception that, on one side or another, the deal was not up to the militants' expectations and that the parties' negotiators were now regarded as "traitors". Since signing the Paris agreement, all parties have also recognised the need to "sell" and "explain" the new agreement to their respective militants. Most of the political parties represented during the talks have already announced they will hold meetings in the coming days, in what is described as "an exercise in pedagogy". "In a certain number of countries, when you sign compromises after hundreds of hours of discussions and when it's not accepted (by your militants), you lose your reputation. In our can risk your life", moderate pro-France Calédonie Ensemble leader Philippe Gomès, who was part of the negotiations, told public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie La Première on Wednesday. Pro-independence FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) chief negotiator Emmanuel Tjibaou, as early as Saturday 12 July, was the first to envision negative repercussions back in New Caledonia. Tjibaou's fateful precedent "To choose this difficult and new path also means we'll be subject to criticism. We're going to get insulted, threatened, precisely because we have chosen a different path", he told a post-signing debrief meeting hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. In 1988, Tjibaou's father, pro-independence leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou, also signed a historic deal (known as the "Matignon-Oudinot accords" with pro-France's Jacques Lafleur, under the auspices of then Prime Minister Michel Rocard. The deal largely contributed to restoring peace in New Caledonia, after a state of quasi-civil war during the second half of the 1980s. The following year, he and his closest associate, Yeiwéné Yeiwéné, were both shot dead by a man who was identified as Djubelly Wéa, a hard-line member of the pro-independence movement, who believed the signing of the 1988 deal was a "betrayal" of the indigenous Kanak people's struggle for sovereignty and independence. 'Nobody has betrayed anybody' "Nobody has betrayed anybody, whichever party he belongs to. All of us, on both sides, have defended and remained faithful to their beliefs. We had to work and together find a common ground for the years to come, for (New) Caledonians. Now that's what we need to explain", pro-France Rassemblement-LR leader Virginie Ruffenach said. In an interview earlier this week, Valls said he was very much aware of the local tensions. "I'm aware there are risks, even serious ones. And not only political. There are threats on elections, on politicians, on the delegations. What I'm calling for is debate, confrontation of ideas and calm". "I'm aware that there are extremists out there, who may want to provoke a civil war...a tragedy is always possible. "The risk is always there. Since the accord was signed, there have been direct threats on New Caledonian leaders, pro-independence or anti-independence. We're going to act to prevent this. There cannot be death threats on social networks against pro-independence or anti-independence leaders", Valls said. Over the past few days, special protection French Police officers have already been deployed to New Caledonia to take care of politicians who took part in the Bougival talks and wish to be placed under special scrutiny. "They will be more protected than (French cabinet) ministers", French national public broadcaster France Inter reported on Tuesday.
