In mid-May, a riot broke out in fresh Caledonia, a French overseas territory, which echoed not only in metropolitan France. What is the origin of the conflict between independency supporters and loyalists, contrary to the separation from the mother-France? And why does a tiny archipelago in the South Pacific attract interest from Azerbaijan, China, and even Russia?
Anxiety swept over the Numei agglomeration on the night of 13 to 14 May. It is in the capital city of the country, in the south of the largest island of Grande Terre, that 67% of the population of the archipelago lives (according to the 2019 census, fresh Caledonia has a population of 271,407 people). Burnt cars, looted shops and clashes between demonstrators and police are the consequence of the Caledonians' opposition to the improvement of the Constitution, which French parliamentarians are working on.
The bill voted in Paris by Members of the National Assembly on the night of 14th to 15th May aims to defrost an electorate entitled to vote in the local elections in fresh Caledonia. The enlargement of the electoral body to include persons born or residing in this territory for at least 10 years has caused much controversy. Once, in the 1980s, the same issue led to civilian war. Now, if the French government does not change its strategy, fresh Caledonia is facing another large-scale conflict. So far 9 people have been killed as a consequence of the riot and hundreds have been injured. Médipôle, the main infirmary of the archipelago, is overcrowded and the number of deaths from natural causes has nearly doubled since the beginning of the conflict.
History of Colonial Oppression
By the time James Cook sailed to fresh Caledonia in 1774, the islands had been inhabited for almost 3 1000 years by indigenous Kanaks. A fewer decades later, in 1853, French colonists took possession of the Caledonian archipelago under Napoleon III. The French colonized fresh Caledonia by settling, that is, bringing free settlers to the islands, as well as prisoners who at the another end of the planet began the expansion of “South France”. Europeans (sailors, missionaries, sandalwood prospectors, whalers, or yet colonizers) brought fresh diseases to fresh Caledonia, leading to epidemics that seriously affected the indigenous population.
Colonisation It besides active the economical exploitation of the Kanaks and their lands. The colonial administration created “indigenous reserves” that Kanaks could not leave without permission. Expropriated from their lands, they were forced to work for the colonizer until 1946. Like the British colonizing Australia or fresh Zealand, the French sought the extermination of the indigenous community. As a consequence of this, the autochthons were pushed to the margin of a recently established Europeanised society.
It was only after planet War II that the Kanaks regained their civilian rights, the ability to vote in elections, or to take education (the first Kanak did not postgraduate until 1962). In the 1970s and 1980s, erstwhile another islands of Melanesia regained independence, the first Kanaks with university diplomas began to return from France. They began cultural and independency rewinds, playing an increasingly crucial function in the Caledonian society.
However, these actions were not without conflict, especially since at the same time the French government initiated another wave of settlement. The colonization task implemented in the 1970s by Prime Minister Pierre Messmer assumed that Kanaków would become a number in their own country. It happened. Today, the autochthons make up 41% of the population of the archipelago and although they are the largest cultural group (Europeans make up 24%, Metysi 11% and people from Wallis and Futuna 8%), their political influence remains limited. Social and economical inequality can be seen in fresh Caledonia, and autochthons inactive face discrimination.
A hard Compromise
One of the causes of civilian war (also known as Events). Les Événements]), which broke out in fresh Caledonia in the 1980s, were administrative and political decisions taken by the French government. 1 of them was the electorate that would vote in the independency referendum. After many years of armed conflict, long negotiations and agreements between the French government, supporters and opponents of independence, a compromise has been reached.
The Kanaks were considered to have been the first residents of the Caledonian territory, thus having the right to independence, but the decision on self-determination must be taken under the provisions laid down by the French constitution. It was besides established that the right to vote in referendums on independency would be limited to persons who were born in fresh Caledonia or lived on islands of the archipelago before 31 December 1994.
Moreover, the position of "victims of history" (fr. Victimes de l’histoire), i.e. those who are descendants of colonists who voluntarily or under coercion were found on the islands of the archipelago. The Kanaks recognized the right of “victim of history” to participate in the elections. The freezing of the electorate was intended to guarantee that decisions on the future of the territory were taken by persons with deep roots and permanent ties with fresh Caledonia. The 1998 Numei Agreement was besides intended to preserve the political importance of the Kanaks, ensuring that decisions regarding the future of the territory would reflect the will of the indigenous peoples.
Political deadlock
New Caledonia has been on the UN list of non-reliant territories since 1986, which should be decolonized. Although fresh Caledonia, as overseas territory with community position sui generis It has large autonomy, it is formally inactive a colony. The decision on who will be able to participate in local elections is taken in Paris, 17,000 kilometres from fresh Caledonia. The French government, through its actions and the pushing of a bill with no support among the half of the Caledonians, forfeits the compromise that was achieved in the 1980s and 1990s.
Left Members of the French National Assembly did not hide their opposition to this reform. "The method utilized is dangerous and gives an illusion of dialog to introduce a colonial model," stressed Sandra Regol of the NUPES party. Bastien Lachaud of the La France insoumise organization criticizes president Emmanuel Macron for “lost his orientation and spit on the legacy of the Numei Agreement. He's dangerously mixing immigration with colonization. Denies colonial facts and victims at the hands of the police." Many parliamentarians, including those on the another side of the political barricade, see the request for an impartial mission to facilitate negotiations between the parties to the conflict in order to scope an agreement on the future of fresh Caledonia. According to Home Minister Gérald Darmanin, the government plays the function of an impartial mediator in this conflict. But are you sure?
What is presently happening in fresh Caledonia is straight linked to the political crisis, which has continued since December 2021, erstwhile the 3rd referendum on the independency of this territory took place. The agreement with Numei, whose aim was the gradual decolonization of fresh Caledonia, assumed the organization of 3 independency referendums. The first took place in 2018, the second in 2020, the 3rd in 2021. In the 2020 referendum, 47% of voters voted to separate fresh Caledonia from France, which shows that not only indigenous Kanaks vote for independence.
The fresh elections, held in December 2021, were problematic and truly are 1 of the causes of today's tensions. It was then that the French government revealed its bias. independency supporters have been asking for respective months to decision the 3rd referendum due to the ongoing pandemic and the time of mourning for the dead on COVID-19. Ceremonies commemorating the dead are a very crucial event for the indigenous community. Moreover, due to the pandemic and lockdown The Caledonians couldn't campaign. On any islands and in many villages there is inactive no permanent net access, so only a run from door to door would make it possible to scope all voters.
Independence supporters feared the results without a appropriate campaign. However, the French government did not respect their requests – he refused, clearly showing that he supported anti-independants. It was then that dialog between supporters and opponents of independency was interrupted and since then fresh Caledonia has been in a political stalemate. The president of France does not take into account the re-determination of the independency referendum, but wants to vote on the question of expanding the electorate at state level. The destiny of fresh Caledonia would be decided by residents of continental France, who frequently do not know the colonial past and specificity of this territory, and even cannot place the islands of the archipelago on the map.
The geopolitical dimension of the Caledonian riot
The unstable political situation in fresh Caledonia is not just about mother-France and is being exploited by another countries. In April, the legislature of fresh Caledonia, headed by members of the independency parties, signed a cooperation agreement with the Azerbaijan National Assembly. The strengthening of cooperation between these territories is straight linked to the deterioration of relations between France and Azerbaijan as a consequence of Paris' support for Armenia in the Mountain Karabach conflict.
This is not the only example of abroad states' interference with the situation in fresh Caledonia. On May 22, there was a cyber attack on the Caledonian net network. The attack, possibly carried out by Russia, occurred after president Emmanuel Macron announced a visit to the French archipelago. Furthermore, in the face of the rivalry between China and the United States, France is actively seeking to strengthen its function as a power in the Indo-Pacific region.
The People's Republic of China, which supports the independent island states of Oceania, specified as the Solomon Islands or Vanuatu, is seen by France, as well as opponents of independency as a threat. fresh Caledonia is attractive to China not only due to a immense exclusive economical region of 1.7 million square kilometres, but besides due to natural resources. There are 25 percent of global nickel deposits in fresh Caledonia, which is frequently utilized to produce batteries for electrical cars.
Both opponents and supporters of independency are aware that the relation with France is crucial. However, everything depends on the principles of the relationship. In 2023, France's financial support for fresh Caledonia amounted to EUR 1.7 billion. On the 1 hand, this amount is crucial for the island's economy (represents 20% of fresh Caledonia's GDP), on the another hand, this support can be seen as a way of maintaining French influence in this territory.
However, decolonisation fresh Caledonia is not just about full independence. There are many different legal statuses, and 1 anticipation is to become an associated state, as the independency parties seek. In specified a formula, fresh Caledonia, as an independent free country, could keep a formal relation with a larger partner, for example with France. This model would let any sovereignty to be preserved, while any competences would be delegated to France. There are respective associated countries in the region of Oceania, specified as Niue, Palau or Cook Islands. However, the French government does not consider specified a solution, preferring to keep the dependency of fresh Caledonia from France without writing out another independency referendum.
The situation in fresh Caledonia is inactive tense. Roads in the Numei agglomeration proceed to occupy many blockades. Almost 3,000 police officers and gendarmes are in charge of restoring order. The dissolution of the National Assembly by Emmanuel Macron and the parliamentary elections scheduled for 30 June and 7 July are not without influence on the political situation of fresh Caledonia.
Although president Macron did not decide to withdraw, but simply to suspend the bill on the enlargement of the electorate, according to Alain Christnacht, a erstwhile advanced Commissioner who actively participated in the negotiations on the 1988 and 1998 agreements, the Parliament's dissolution put an end to the draft Constitutional Act on fresh Caledonia in the form voted by French politicians in May. Not only were supporters of the withdrawal from France, but besides any members of loyalist parties.
In July, we will see how the changes in the composition of the French government will affect the negotiations on the future of fresh Caledonia. Marine Le Pen of the far right, triumphant in the Euro-Elections of National Unity (RN) is simply a staunch opponent of the frost of the electorate. Although she considered the consequence of the 3rd independency referendum of 2021 to be the "final" result, in May she suggested another referendum in forty years.
Daniel Goa, head of Union calédonienne (UC) independence, noted: “Whether [elections win] Macron or Le Pen, it will not substance much... Le Pen doesn't scare us, they're nationalists. We are nationalists too, but in our country. This is not the case with Macron."
After nearly forty years of comparative peace, the Kanaks are inactive waiting for a firm motion from the French state. The future of fresh Caledonia depends on courageous and thoughtful decisions that will show that French politicians truly realize the challenges facing the Caledonians. Time will show whether Emmanuel Macron's call for dialog will affect the peaceful settlement of a conflict whose roots go back to the full oppression and force of the colonial past of the Caledonian archipelago.
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Dr. Karolina Kania – an anthropologist, assistant prof. at the Faculty of Management of the University of Economics in Prague, designer of UX, trainer of intercultural education. He has been passionate about France and its dependent territories for more than 10 years. Initially on the island of Reunion (2011-2013), and then on fresh Caledonia (2014-2018), she conducted field investigation that allowed her to better realize not only the colonial past and culture of overseas territories, but besides the relations between island residents and France. In November 2021 in EHESS, Paris, she defended her doctorate on conflicts related to the improvement of tourism in the islands of the Caledonian archipelago. Her technological texts and reports were published in magazines in Poland and abroad.
