Far from France, New Caledonia wants a divorce. Macron rejects like this

New Caledonia asks for independence again on the day of Emmanuel Macron’s visit. But the French president rejects any hypothesis of disassociation with the overseas territory. “The last three referendums have shown how the people of New Caledonia want to stay with Paris,” he said today at a news conference in Nouméa, shortly after arriving in the Pacific archipelago, a French possession since 1853. Despite three failed independence votes, the question of self-determination remains at the forefront of many minds. Macron is expected to meet local leaders during his state visit this week to discuss the future status of New Caledonia. 40% of residents are Kanak indigenous people, most of whom would like to “divorce” Paris. The pro-independence parties, in power since 2017, want full sovereignty by 2025. Opponents of independence say another referendum is not needed. On the contrary, they ask for greater integration with France. Since 2018, New Caledonia has held three independence consultations. The first two polls saw the pro-independence vote rise from 43.3% in 2018 to 46.7% in 2020. But when the final referendum was called in 2021, pro-independence parties boycotted the vote due to the impact of Covid on the Kanak population and voter turnout was just over 40%. Pro-independence activists refused to recognize the result.

In fact, the “divorce” was rejected. Hence the words with which Macron recalled the “close ties of New Caledonia with France” and the “strategic position in the Pacific with the forces of the Navy and Air Force stationed here”. “New Caledonia has a role to play in the Indo-Pacific area”, underlined the French president, who will also visit Papua New Guinea in the coming days. France has left open the possibility of another vote in a generation or two, but the pro-independence coalition has rejected that moment. Laurie Humuni, secretary general of the Oceanian Democratic Rally, announced that the movement will reopen negotiations “because we don’t want to fall into the trap of neocolonization.” Pro-independence groups are also seeking their claims at the United Nations. At the same time, citizens’ groups launched appeals over the validity of the 2021 referendum in French courts and the European Court of Human Rights.