After an inauspicious start when he was verballed publicly by angry loyalists, France’s Minister for Overseas Territories Manuel Valls succeeded in holding discussions last week in New Caledonia about future governance. It was the first talks attended by all local political parties in four years.
The result of the talks was modest. A “synthesis paper” prepared by France listed options for the future put by the various sides, most of them bitterly disputed, but it is a step forward, and a basis for future discussion and a possible eventual agreement.
Valls’ visit got off to a bad start, even though he had carefully set the scene for peaceful discussions. Shortly after his arrival, at a ceremony commemorating a French policeman killed during the 2024 riots, a group of loyalists, defying France’s ban on demonstrations, protested loudly with placards and French flags, about months of disruptions to physical access to their suburb.
After Valls laid a wreath, loyalist Nicholas Metzdorf, a French national parliamentarian, publicly challenged him for having described Kanaks as the “first people”, claiming this relegated Europeans to being treated as “second citizens”. Valls said this interpretation was erroneous, noting references in France’s constitution to its indigenous people. Metzdorf used Spanish at one point, a calculated insult to Valls, who is of Spanish origin. Every minute of the fiery exchange was recorded by local television.
Still, loyalists and other local party leaders expressed a readiness to participate in talks. The hold-out was the hardline independence coalition, which since their boycott of the 2021 independence referendum would only talk with France on its own, refusing to participate if loyalists attended as well. But they finally agreed to participate during Valls’ visit. The talks proceeded immediately, in strict confidentiality and without comment to the media, unusual in New Caledonia.
As long as talks are proceeding, regional countries, including Australia and other Pacific Islands Forum governments, are unlikely to do anything other than closely monitor.
The resultant synthesis paper basically identifies preferred options of the main groups in key areas of future governance. These include different ways to handle:
- The core contested questions of another vote on self-determination, voter eligibility restrictions in local elections, and other “Caledonian citizenship” issues such as eligibility for local employment.
- Possible changes to the governance institutions including the composition and mode of election to cabinet, the weight of representation in the Congress for the three provinces, and distribution of fiscal revenue and responsibility between them.
- Currently shared responsibilities with France, particularly in international relations.
- The role of the current Kanak Customary Senate.
Although not securing agreement in any of these areas, the discussions have at least identified a list of the main issues and various proposed options for tackling them. Each one of these issues is controversial and sensitive, and the options put are at this stage wide apart. Moreover, all of the proposals – ranging from the status quo, to some change, through to radical change – are presented on a premise that New Caledonia remains within France.
And no-one walked out, as often occurred in earlier attempts to parlay.
As long as talks are proceeding, regional countries, including Australia and other Pacific Islands Forum governments, are unlikely to do anything other than closely monitor how the local parties and France are resolving vital questions about New Caledonia’s future and its relationship with France.
Regional governments are well aware that the eventual outcomes of these talks, and the stability of New Caledonia, have strategic implications. The French territory is Australia’s closest neighbour to the east, and straddles Australia’s major commercial and defence naval routes. Strategic considerations have also been heightened by the ongoing contest for influence in the Pacific, evident in China’s latest military foray into the waters off Australia, as far south as the Tasman Sea, and indeed, in New Caledonia itself (and other French overseas territories), where, of all countries, Azerbaijan has provided support to independence movements to irritate France over the unrelated issue of Armenia.
Maintaining the momentum of collaboration will be critical. Valls is expected to return to Noumea later in the month to take the discussions further. Given the differences, any formal agreement is likely to take some time.
