President Emmanuel Macron is bringing together political and economic leaders from New Caledonia for a summit starting Wednesday to talk about the French overseas territory’s future, one year after it was hit by deadly violence.
New Caledonian elected officials, along with economic and civil society representatives, have agreed to join the talks at the president’s invitation.
Macron said last week the discussions would last “as long as necessary” to deal with major issues.
“Beyond major institutional topics, I would like our discussions to touch on economic and societal matters,” Macron said.
New Caledonia has been ruled by France since the 1800s. Many indigenous Kanaks still resent Paris’s control and want more autonomy or independence.
Key dates in New Caledonia’s history
Unrest broke out in May 2024 after Paris planned to give voting rights to thousands of non-indigenous, long-term residents – something Kanaks fear would leave them in a permanent minority, crushing their chances of winning independence.
The riots – the most violent since the 1980s – led to the death of 14 people and caused billions of euros in damage.
The president's decision to host talks alongside the overseas minister Manuel Valls comes after a French court freed independence leader Christian Tein in June.
Tein, who is a Kanak, had been held in custody in eastern France since June 2024 over the rioting.
Investigating magistrates concluded there was no proof that Tein was preparing an armed uprising against the government, according to a source close to the case.
The last independence referendum in New Caledonia was held in 2021, and was boycotted by pro-independence groups over the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Kanak population.
The referendum was the last of three since 2018, all of which rejected New Caledonian independence.
Anniversary of French occupation exposes rifts over New Caledonia's future
'Future of the territory'
Since the 2021 referendum – which pro-independence campaigners had wanted to be rescheduled – the political situation in the archipelago has been in deadlock.
Valls led negotiations in May between pro-independence and anti-independence groups, but they did not reach an agreement about the institutional future of the territory.
The president declared in early June that he wanted a "new project" for New Caledonia.
(with AFP)
