French Imperialism weakened in New Caledonia
By Pauline Perrotin
Historical Context
First colonized in 1853, New Caledonia has often challenged French imperialism over time. Located 17,000 km from France, New Caledonia was initially a penal colony before officially becoming a “TOM” (Territoire d’Outre-Mer), a French overseas territory, in 1946, making the Kanaks, the indigenous population, official French citizens. Today the island remains an important asset for France’s economic and political strategic influence, and the Kanaks, once the biggest ethnic group on the island, now represent only 41% of the total population.
The colonial policies implemented by the French including cultural suppression, land displacement, and economic marginalization had a long-lasting impact on the Indigenous population fueling the violence, and the political and economic instability on the island to this day. A Kanak pro-independence movement driven by demands for cultural recognition, autonomy, and economic equity rose in the 1980’s. This confrontation between independentists and loyalists ended with the Nouméa Accord of 1998 allowing New Caledonia administrative autonomy with a unique political system. The territory is now divided into three provinces governed by a provincial assembly elected by the population registered on the electoral list before 1998, and their descendants. This law, enshrined in the French constitution, was put in place to allow more power and representation to the Kanaks. The Nouméa Accord also resulted in a set of referendums to allow the population to choose whether to gain independence. The referendums took place in 2018, 2020, and 2021, all resulting against self-determination. These results underscore the population’s division on French sovereignty over the Pacific island. While the independentists denounce neocolonialism, the loyalists consider the economic dependence the island has on France. Indeed, every year the French government provides important financial support for the development of the island, further increasing its economic influence on the territory.
Recent Protests
In May 2024, the French government decided to enlarge and open the right to vote for the provincial assembly to everyone that lived in New Caledonia for more than 10 years. By doing so it would enlarge the electoral population by 25,000 new voters. This potential new law created protest on the island with the FLNKS party, the Independentists, claiming an attempt to decrease the influence of the native people on the political system and an excessive control of France over their territory. The French government's announcement shook the island and sparked riots, with violence breaking out across the territory between the independentists and the loyalists. Armed militias were formed and violent clashes broke out in the streets between the two groups, resulting in 11 deaths and widespread panic across the island in just a few days. While some journalists talked about the start of a civil war, President Macron declared the island in a state of emergency allowing the authorities to spread their power to restore order and shut down the protests. The authorities made several arrests and imposed a curfew but the violence lasted for several months. In June, the president of the FLNKS party was arrested and put in jail in France accused of promoting violence and responsible for the 11 deaths reported during the protests. Despite some negotiations between the independentists, the loyalists, and the French government, to create a new political and economic system more equitable and representative of the population's desires, no accords were reached yet, six months after the beginning of the protests. The French government has decided to postpone the provincial elections scheduled for December 15 this year until November 2025, while a peaceful agreement is reached.
Power and Influence
New Caledonia has been a territory of strategic influence for France, both economically, for its nickel resources and mining opportunities, and politically, for its influence in the Pacific Ocean, challenging China's domination. This influence over the island including financial support, control over resources, and administrative oversight has been seen by many, including the Kanaks, as neocolonialism, a form of modern imperialism through economic dependency. While loyalists prefer to remain under French control, mainly for financial support and economic stability, independentists denounce the economic disparities of French investments, which favor the interests of the settlers over Kanak welfare. The arrest of the FLNKS president by the French authorities was seen as a means of shutting down the Kanaks' determination for independence and reinforced this feeling of a repressive attitude of the French government towards the indigenous population.
On the international level, the U.N. has not been interfering in the conflict but closely monitored the situation. The UN’s Decolonization Committee has been advocating for the right to self-determination for territories that remain non-sovereign ensuring that New Caledonia’s potential path toward self-determination remains a peaceful and transparent process. The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), a key intergovernmental organization in the region, has been a consistent advocate for New Caledonia’s self-determination while the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), including Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, has been one of the most vocal advocates pushing for the issue to be recognized in regional and international forums. The EU has expressed a level of concern over France's handling of New Caledonia's self-determination, especially following the 2021 referendum. While EU leadership has often approached France’s Pacific territories diplomatically, some European Parliament members and human rights advocates have been vocal about the need for a fair self-determination process.
Conclusion
The historical political tensions in New Caledonia have continued to grow and have led the archipelago into an unprecedented political and economic crisis. The population is divided more than ever creating political instability while the economy of the island is at its lowest with more than 6,000 jobs lost since the start of the protest in May 2024. Those last protests in New Caledonia have deeply challenged France’s legitimacy to sovereignty over the island. The French government will have to work together with the Kanaks independentists toward building a new political and economic system more representative and adapted to the demands of the population if the occidental country wants to keep its sovereignty over the Pacific Ocean archipelago.
