The calls to shift the date have been supported worldwide. With more than 270 COVID deaths since September, going to the ballot boxes or running an election campaign will be difficult for those in mourning. The FLNKS ( National Kanak and Socialist Liberation Front) have asked for a postponement and were refused. The independence movement hoped that they could swing the vote this time. In 2020, only 53.26 per cent voted to remain with France. The previous referenda in 20 have shown that the territory is strongly divided. The French government has taken a clear position against political independence while officially neutral – in an August speech in Tahiti, President Macron said that France would be “less beautiful” without New Caledonia. However, the French Council of Ministers, including Sebastien Lecornu, the French Minister of the Overseas and the current Prime Minister Jean Castex, announced the referendum date back in June 2021. France’s former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe had promised that it would not take place between September 2021 and April 2022, to avoid it being a political football prior to the French Presidential elections which begin on April 10, 2022.
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Picture: Getty Imagesįrance has chosen December 12 as the date for the last referendum unilaterally, without full consultation. President Macron said that France would be “less beautiful” without New Caledonia. The contrast with Pacific neighbours like Vanuatu is striking. However, the reality is that a distant European power still controls law enforcement, the university, currency and foreign affairs. As an economic anchor, it is still a risky venture, suffering economic ups and downs.įrench authorities cite provincialisation as a solution to New Caledonian citizens ‘living better together’, with French citizenship but without political independence. It provides jobs, subcontracting and other opportunities to local communities, overwhelmingly Kanak – more than 90 per cent of Koniambo employees are local. In the North Province, the Kanak majority leadership has managed to negotiate the largest Indigenous controlled mine and processing plant in the world with majority ownership through its Société Minière du Sud Pacifique (SMSP) of the massive Koniambo nickel deposit, in partnership with the Anglo-Swiss mining company, Glencore. Provincial governments now control most of their own affairs and budgets. The extensive archipelago was divided into three provinces – two strongly dominated by Kanak representatives. Submarines and vaccines: France's 2022 presidential elections France wanted to calm separatist aspirations after a civil war between 19, euphemistically called the événements (events) in which 200 people died. The Matignon Accords were brokered in 1988 by Jean Marie Tjibaou, a charismatic Kanak leader who fought for an end to the marginalisation of Kanak culture by French colonial society. The French-speaking territory is a strong mining economy, with around a quarter of the world’s nickel reserves. They cite historic racism, ongoing discrimination and economic disadvantage. Pro-independence supporters are mostly Kanak, but include some inhabitants with Pacific, European or Asian heritage. President Macron has promised to retain this support if the ‘no’ vote prevails. The territory enjoys strong links with and financial transfers from France, around $AU2.45 billion in 2018 (17 per cent of GDP). Many pro-France supporters are migrants or have ‘settler’ origins, and are most numerous in the Nouméa urban area, the ‘Paris of the Pacific’ in the south of the main island Grande Terre, which is home to over half the population of 271,000. Around 40 per cent of the total population are Indigenous Kanaks with Melanesian origins dating back over 3,000 years.
This French-speaking territory has a strong mining economy, with around a quarter of the world’s nickel reserves. They are calling for non-participation in the referendum. Indigenous Kanak political leaders argue that the rights and customs of their communities are not being respected as deaths have risen and extended periods of customary mourning will hinder voting for thousands of people.