New Caledonia
Polycrisis in the Pacific: How leaders will respond at the PIF Summit in Tonga
The Pacific region is facing a “polycrisis”, said Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka at a Pacific security conference in Suva in June.The mounting threats of climate change,…
The unheard potential of moderate voices in New Caledonia’s crisis
A deep political and social fracture continues more than two months after civil unrest engulfed New Caledonia. The bitter confrontations that began in May between French police…
A surprising litmus test for New Caledonia’s independence parties
The voters in the second round of France’s national elections last week staved off an expected shift to the far-right. But the result in the Pacific territory New Caledonia was…
New Caledonia: France’s way or the Pacific way?
France’s action in transporting eight indigenous New Caledonian detainees to metropolitan France can only fan the flames of ethnic and political difference that have erupted into…
France’s legislative elections and complications for New Caledonia
French President Emmanuel Macron made a surprise decision at the weekend to dissolve France’s national assembly and set new elections for 30 June and 7 July. While Macron’s move…
Next steps for New Caledonia in the wake of Macron’s proposals
It will be a long process for the deeply polarised local independence and loyalist parties to hold meaningful discussions after 14 days of violence, as the implications sink in of…
Violence erupts in New Caledonia as independence supporters oppose legislation in Paris
Last night saw demonstrations by independence supporters in New Caledonia erupt into serious violence for the first time since the 1980s civil disturbances. The mainly indigenous…
New Caledonia: Uncertainty and division intensify as Paris imposes its will
Two years after the inconclusive third independence referendum under the 1998 Noumea Accord, uncertainty and tensions are mounting in New Caledonia. To force local discussion…
New Caledonia: France’s threat to impose change unilaterally weakened
New Caledonia’s political future remains uncertain, two years after a contested independence referendum in December 2021. All independence parties reject the pro-France…
New Caledonia: Independence leader wins French Senate seat over Macron favourite
France held its national senatorial elections on 24 September 2023, coincidentally the 170th anniversary of France claiming possession of New Caledonia in 1853. Of two…