New Caledonia: separatists preparing to lead the French Pacific archipelago
Demonstration of independentists in Noumea, New Caledonia (illustrative image).
Theo Rouby / AFP
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2 min
Change of head in New Caledonia.
The separatists are preparing to lead the executive of the French Pacific archipelago (located east of Australia) which is continuing its process of decolonization.
The new government was elected this Wednesday February 17 in Noumea by members of the Caledonian Congress.
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In New Caledonia, the separatists are on the way to a successful political coup, they are the ones who brought down the last government in early February 2021 by resigning en bloc.
The separatist parties - UC FLNKS and UNI - won six of the eleven seats in the new government.
This is a first since 1982 in New Caledonia, unprecedented since the Noumea Accords of 1998 which set the stages for the decolonization of this French territory.
The separatists must now agree on a candidate to find a consensual president.
A context of tensions
First around the takeover of the nickel plant in Valé.
The separatists are against the latest takeover offer.
They fear losing control over nickel, the wealth of the archipelago.
And it is for this reason that they brought down the last government, to block the process and put pressure on the French state.
The other sensitive area is the prospect of a third and last referendum on independence before 2022. The coming to power of the separatists could further fuel political tensions with the loyalists, the supporters of a New Caledonia remaining under the French flag.
Relaunch the dialogue?
In Paris, the government hopes that the formation of this new government will make it possible to relaunch the dialogue, which has now stalled with the separatists.
"
When you run the executive, you cannot say no to discussions,
" confided a relative of the Minister of Overseas France, Sébastien Lecornu.
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See also: New Caledonia: the separatists bring down the government
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