The visit to New Caledonia of the French Overseas Miniser Manuel Valls has thrown the spotlight back on the Bougival accord, a deal seen by many as the best hope for political stability after last year’s deadly unrest.
Valls began a high-stakes trip to New Caledonia on Wednesday, urging local leaders to embrace the Bougival agreement on the Pacific territory’s future, even as divisions with the main pro-independence movement remain stark.
Addressing the customary Senate in Nouméa, Valls called the accord “a historic opportunity” and insisted there was “no credible alternative”.
Signed in July after 10 days of negotiations in France, the Bougival agreement outlines the creation of a New Caledonian state with its own nationality, while remaining enshrined in the French Constitution. It also delays provincial elections until mid-2026.
But the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) – the principal pro-independence coalition – has rejected the deal.
After a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Valls, its delegation left without public comment, saying it wished first to consult leader Christian Tein who is under judicial control and barred from the territory for his alleged role in last year’s unrest.
Nevertheless, he continues to supervise the movement’s strategy.
Later, the FLNKS issued a statement restating its refusal to postpone elections and its demand for a binding timetable towards full sovereignty by 2027. “To claim that without Bougival the country would plunge into the void is a falsehood,” the communiqué declared.
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Divisions within independence ranks
However, the FLNKS now stands isolated. Other pro-independence parties – including Palika and the Progressive Union in Melanesia (UPM) – have endorsed the Bougival text, as has the Eveil océanien, a key grouping that takes no position on independence itself.
All non-independence parties are also on board.
That left Valls able to count some successes on his first day. Virginie Ruffenach, of the loyalist Rassemblement-Les Républicains, welcomed the minister’s determination to press ahead “along the path approved by the majority”.
Still, his visit highlights the political fault lines that persist more than a year after violent riots left 14 people dead and inflicted more than €2 billion in damage.
The disturbances, sparked by a proposed electoral reform, also collapsed the local economy, with GDP falling by an estimated 10 to 15 percent.
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Concerns on the ground
Valls also met local mayors and community leaders, though only 14 of the territory’s 33 mayors attended, with many from FLNKS-controlled communes absent.
Those present painted a sobering picture: some municipalities have had to close social action centres, while others warned of the risk of fresh unrest without progress.
Despite the challenges, Valls struck an optimistic tone, emphasising that Bougival offers a framework for stability and development.
Without such an agreement, he warned, investors would shun New Caledonia’s vital nickel industry, health services would struggle to recover, and social inequalities would deepen.
On Thursday, the minister is set to launch a drafting committee to refine the Bougival text and “clarify its spirit”, before heading north to a region hard-hit by a shortage of healthcare workers since the 2024 violence.
