The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, will travel this Tuesday (21) to New Caledonia, a French territory in the Pacific Ocean where six people were killed, including two police officers, and hundreds of others were injured during armed clashes and riots in recent weeks .
“In light of the outbreak of violence, the priority is the return of order to allow the resumption of dialogue in New Caledonia. We are sure: there is still a lot to be done before returning to normality. The government is fully mobilized,” declared government spokeswoman Prisca Thevenot, according to information from international agencies.
Tension between the indigenous Kanak population and French colonizers and their descendants has been a decades-long problem, and three referendums to decide on New Caledonia’s independence ended in a “no” victory in 2018, 2020 and 2021.
The last one was boycotted by independence supporters in the territory, who had refused a request for the referendum to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The current wave of violence stems from a measure recently approved by the French Legislature. A 1998 agreement established that only native New Caledonia and migrants who arrived in the territory up to the year of signing this commitment can vote in provincial elections and local referendums.
However, France’s Parliament approved last week that people who have lived in New Caledonia for at least ten years could also vote. The measure displeased pro-independence groups.
Macron committed not to submit the project to a joint vote by the Senate and the National Assembly, the last step for it to become law, until a new agreement is signed, but he gave a deadline of June for this to happen.
#Macron #travels #Caledonia #wave #violence #motivated #electoral #change