New Caledonia|So far, six people have died and hundreds have been injured in violent riots in New Caledonia.
Week then France decided to send to New Caledonia a thousand policemen and soldiers. Violent riots had broken out on the Pacific island in mid-May.
On Thursday, the French president also arrived Emmanuel Macron. He immediately announced that the police and soldiers sent by France would remain on the island at least for the time being.
They talk about Macron’s visit, among other things The New York Times and The Guardian.
“The French security forces will remain in New Caledonia as long as necessary,” the president said after stepping off the plane.
Of course, Macron didn’t fly to a French island just to say this. The purpose of his visit was to appease the native Kanaks who support the independence of New Caledonia.
All began with a French plan to give French citizens who had lived in New Caledonia for at least ten years the right to vote.
The Kanaks started protesting against the plan. According to them, the plan could weaken the indigenous people’s voice in Pacific Island politics. The Kanaks have also expressed their concern that the possibility of the French voting in the elections might stifle the independence aspirations of the indigenous people.
So far, six people have been killed and hundreds injured in the violent riots. At the same time, nearly 400 public buildings, businesses, shops and homes have been destroyed in fires started by protesters.
France has ended up declaring a state of emergency in New Caledonia. The task of the security forces has mainly been to protect the ports and the international airport located in the capital Nouméa.
Protesters have assembled burned cars to block roads in New Caledonia’s capital.
Macron did not promise during his visit that France would back down from its plan to grant the right to vote to the French living in New Caledonia. He emphasized that the purpose of the visit was primarily to promote the restoration of order in the area.
“I arrive here to work resolutely to restore peace,” Macron told reporters at the airport, stressing that France does not intend to extend the state of emergency.
“During the next hours and days, the purpose is to go through ways to restore the republican order, because there is no other option,” he continued.
Macron’s reception reflected the tensions between the Canadians and the French that surfaced during the protests in New Caledonia.
“The fireman who started the fire is coming from there,” wrote, for example, a member of the New Caledonian Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste party Jimmy Naouna message service in X.
The president of the southern province of New Caledonia, who has a positive attitude towards French rule Sonia Backès in turn, commented on Macron’s visit by stating that it was a “strong sign” of Macron’s desire to resolve the inflamed situation in a fair and political manner.
New Caledonia is one of several regions that remained under French rule after the collapse of colonialism and the colonial system.
Located between Australia and Fiji, the island has been of economic importance to France for centuries because of its nickel reserves. New Caledonia is what it is today the third largest in the world producer of primary nickel.
The demand for nickel, on the other hand, has risen rapidly worldwide, as it is a critical material in clean energy technologies, especially in lithium-ion batteries for electric cars.
The inhabitants of New Caledonia have decided in a total of three referendums to remain part of France. The last of the votes was held in 2021. Tensions between the Canadians and the French partly stem from its result.
According to The New York Times, Kanak community leaders then called for the vote to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The virus had destroyed local communities, and local customs forbade political activity during mourning.
However, France refused to postpone the vote, as a result of which Kanak leaders called on the natives to boycott the vote. Voter turnout was lower than in previous elections, when only 44 percent of the population voted.
As a result of the vote, 97 percent of voters supported New Caledonia remaining part of France. The Kanak leaders refused to accept the result.
However, Macron and his government viewed the vote as sealing decades of debate over New Caledonia’s independence.
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