New Caledonia’s pro-independence political party has called on French President Emmanuel Macron to take more decisive action to ease tensions in the French Pacific territory. The Socialist Kanak National Liberation Front (FLNKS) stated that it cannot convince protesters to dismantle roadblocks because activists remain unconvinced that Macron will abandon a contentious electoral reform.
The ongoing protests, which have resulted in at least seven deaths, are against a proposed constitutional amendment that would expand New Caledonia’s electorate to include recent French arrivals. Many indigenous Kanaks fear this change would dilute their vote and affect any future referendum on independence.
FLNKS addressed their concerns in a letter to Macron’s three-person mission, which is tasked with re-establishing political dialogue. The letter, written a week after Macron’s brief visit, highlighted that roadblocks continue to disrupt travel, and armored vehicles have been deployed from France.
“Despite several meetings with activists mobilized at roadblocks and two statements from FLNKS calling for appeasement… this message is still hardly heard on the ground,” the letter stated.
During his visit to Noumea last month, Macron said he would not push through the voting reform that sparked the riots but insisted that the roadblocks must be removed. However, FLNKS claimed that Macron’s comments were misunderstood by protesters, who did not perceive a clear guarantee that the constitutional reform would be abandoned.
“This misunderstanding represents a real difficulty and prevents our activists from hearing the call for calm and appeasement. For this reason, the FLNKS’s political office asks the president to state explicitly that… he gives up on this constitutional reform,” the letter urged.
Currently, New Caledonia’s international airport remains closed, and clashes between French gendarmes and indigenous Kanak protesters at the roadblocks persist. France has deployed 3,000 security officers to manage the unrest. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced on social media that Centaure armored vehicles had arrived in New Caledonia to help end the roadblocks and “re-establish republican order.”
FLNKS spokesman Jimmy Naouna emphasized the need for a political solution rather than a military one. “The more military there is, the more clashes there will be,” he said, warning of the risk of escalating militarization reminiscent of the violent clashes between French police and independence activists in 1987.
