The French pacific island territory of New Caledonia has elected its first pro-independence president, months ahead of a third, and final, referendum on independence.
Louis Mapou said it was "an honour and a privilege" to serve as President, adding that he carries “a heavy heritage, that of our figurehead, Jean-Marie Tjibaou,” a reference to the territory’s first indigenous Kanack president, who was assassinated in 1989.
Mapou is the pro-independence Kanack to hold the presidency since the 1998 Noumea Accord granted autonomy to the territory, ending a deadly conflict between Kanack population and the descendants of European settlers.
Ending a crisis
In February, pro-independence lawmakers gained a majority in the New Caledonian government for the first time since the Accord. But the two pro-independence parties fought over who should take the role of president.
Mapou’s election ends five months of constitutional crisis.
As part of the Noumea Accord, New Caledonia was given the opportunity to vote three times on independence, and the third referendum is planned for 12 December.
Two previous referendums in 2018 and 2020 both failed to win a majority in favour of independence, though support for remaining a part of France dropped between the two, from 56.7 per cent in 2018 to 53.26 per cent in 2020.
Introspection
Mapou called for “introspection”, and vowed to fight inequality, reach out to Kanack youth, and address violence against women.
French overseas territories minister Sebastien Lecornu congratulated Mapou and invited him to meet soon to discuss, among other things, the "structural difficulties of New Caledonian public finances" - a reference to the territory's budgetary crisis.
France subsidises the territory with around 1.5 billion euros every year, more than 15 percent of the territory's gross domestic product.
New Caledonia has large reserves of nickel, which is drawing interest from international companies working on electric vehicles.
Mapou sits on the board of directors of France's Eramet, which runs nickel mines, the Doniambo ferro-nickel plant near the port of Noumea, and a refinery that produces a type of nickel that can be used in electric vehicle batteries.
He also worked as the director general of New Caledonia's Rural Development and Land Development Agency from 1998 to 2005.
