A serious crisis overseas, in the antipodes, has destabilizing effects in the metropolis. All of this explains the lightning trip that French President Emmanuel Macron took yesterday to the archipelago of New Caledonia, in Oceania, 17,000 kilometers from Paris. He will need, with the ladder to supply himself, a whole day.
Macron likes the punches, and even more so when he’s in trouble. The revolt that began more than a week ago in the distant territory of the South Pacific has been dying down, for now, although the toll is bleak: six dead, hundreds injured, a multitude of shops and businesses looted and destroyed, waste, ruin of the tourist image and a coexistence between the Canac (indigenous) community and the rest of the population seriously compromised for a long time.
The French head of state will land in Nouméa, the capital of the islands and epicenter of the riots, before the international airport reopens to commercial flights. Over the weekend, the police and gendarmes rushed to the islands managed to dismantle the dozens of barricades that angry young Canacs erected on the road that cuts through the main island, Grande Terre, and that prevented them from reaching the airport
According to the Government spokeswoman, Prisca Thevenot, Macron is traveling to launch “a dialogue mission” between the opposing groups. The president acts “with a spirit of responsibility”. The aim is to “express solidarity towards New Caledonians” and to thank the law enforcement and the military for their contribution “to the return of republican order”. Obviously, it’s a gesture. The 24 hours that the holder of the Élysée will be in New Caledonia will not be enough to obtain a compromise in a conflict that has dragged on for many years and that has its roots in the colonial past. It remains to be seen whether it will be met with open hostility and whether, instead of appeasing, it will stoke the fire even more.
This archipelago, discovered by the British captain James Cook and which France – under Emperor Napoleon III – incorporated into its overseas possessions, today has around 270,000 inhabitants. The problem is that the natives are now a minority, despite the fact that the electoral system grants them electoral over-representation. It was precisely the constitutional reform project to correct this overrepresentation that caused the explosion of anger.
The Ministers of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin; of Defence, Sébastien Lecornu, and of Overseas, Marie Guévenoux, accompanied Macron on the plane. A delegation of such weight wants to symbolize the importance given to the crisis and the desire to show that Paris does not disregard the territory, despite the fact that it is on the UN decolonization list. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who has never visited the islands, will soon travel to New Caledonia. Attal will preside today in Paris, replacing Macron, at the tribute to the two gendarmes killed in the riots.
The dispute in New Caledonia has a difficult solution. The most important thing is to avoid a civil war, a nightmare that was about to materialize, like in the eighties. Militias of armed civilians have appeared in the riots to protect their respective neighborhoods.
France is not opposed in principle to the fact that New Caledonia accedes to full independence. However, he fears that such a small and fragile country will fall under the orbit of China or other powers. The islands are very rich in nickel, although this industry is now experiencing a serious crisis that has an impact on the discomfort of the Canacs. “France is more beautiful with New Caledonia”, said Macron after the first self-determination referendum, in May 2018, in which the inhabitants decided to continue in France. Then there were two more consultations, in October 2020 and December 2021, which the secessionists also lost, although the last one was distorted by a boycott.
Macron’s visit to the Antipodes may not be entirely unrelated to an internal political calculation. The president’s party, Renaissance, may suffer a defeat in the European elections on June 9. The Elysée’s display of power and determination could help mitigate the electoral disaster, or perhaps the opposite.
