The Minister of the Interior and Overseas, Gérald Darmanin, arrived in the South Pacific archipelago for a seven-day visit. His mission: to find a way to bring everyone back to the table and initiate discussions on the future status of the territory.
With our correspondent in Nouméa, Charlotte Manny
The state and the separatists have not spoken to each other for more than a year, since the last referendum on independence, which they boycotted and which was therefore won without surprise by the non-separatists. The state did try to bring the partners together last month in Paris, but the separatists did not make the trip.
This time, they will come to meet the minister, but they said so, on the basis of pure and simple independence, accompanied by a possible partnership. The problem is that even if the referendum last December is disputed (particularly because of a record abstention to which the separatists had called), the Caledonians have said no to independence three times, in 2018, 2020 and 2021.
► Read also : in New Caledonia, the separatists file a first appeal against the last referendum
” We can’t ignore it “, we say in the entourage of the minister, while explaining that France will of course respect the right to self-determination. The solution could involve an even more extensive sharing of skills. A hyper-autonomy which would flirt with independence, but which would make it possible to keep the territory in the French bosom. New Caledonia being at the heart of the France’s Indo-Pacific strategy, – detailed by Emmanuel Macron a few days ago at the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Bangkok -, it seems that the State is ready to consider it.
► Read also : in New Caledonia, scheduled for 2023, the referendum on the status of the territory postponed sine die