Two months ago to the day, New Caledonia entered a troubled period with the start of the insurrection and riots, against a backdrop of electoral reform. Sixty days later, despite police reinforcements deployed on site, roadblocks and violence persist. Even more serious, the economy of the Pacific archipelago is on the ground, and New Caledonia has come to a standstill.
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In the middle of summer, no tourists in New Caledonia. This is one of the many consequences of the riots. Transport, construction, industries, the economic crisis affects all sectors. The archipelago is in agony.
” The result is still 30% of the productive capital of Caledonia destroyed. That’s 700, 800 businesses destroyed. That’s more than 10,000 unemployed, whereas before the riots, there were 2,000 unemployed, deplores David Guyenne, the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, contacted by Pierre Olivier, from the RFI Society department. And if the economic system through businesses collapses, New Caledonia will collapse even more. »
Workplaces destroyed
According to the authorities, nearly 24,000 New Caledonians are expected to find themselves unemployed in the very short term, their workplaces having been destroyed.
” Now the crisis will spread to the population, because when you no longer have a salary, how do you survive? I think the only thing that can get us out is help from France, because we won’t get out of this alone. “, explains Nicole Moreau, the president of the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises.
The amount of damage, still provisional, is estimated at more than 2 billion euros.
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