New Caledonia’s pro-independence leaders are calling on Paris to drop the vote reform

Pro-independence leaders in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia pressured Paris on Monday (June 3) to drop a planned voting reform that has sparked weeks of deadly unrest.

The Kanak National Liberation Socialist Front (FLNKS) – named after indigenous people who fear being marginalized by the changes – said President Emmanuel Macron should “be clear in his words, clearly stating that he will (…) abandon constitutional reform “. which has not yet been approved in a joint session of parliament. “Such an announcement would allow … current tensions to calm so that discussions on the future of New Caledonia can resume,” the FLNKS political committee told Macron in a letter seen by Agence France-Presse.

The government plans to open the archipelago’s electoral roll – frozen since 1998 – to more recent arrivals who have lived there for at least 10 years. The Kanaks fear the change will crush their ambitions for independence, leaving them a permanent minority in the territory of 270,000 people.

Anger at the plans spilled over into two weeks of riots and barricades that cut off many neighborhoods and blocked major roads. The clashes claimed the lives of seven people and injured hundreds more, as well as causing around 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in damage.

Macron said during a brief visit to New Caledonia on May 23 that he did not want to “force reform through” – while vowing he would not “go back”.

“On the ground, these observations unfortunately continue to be misunderstood,” FLNKS said. “This misunderstanding is a real difficulty and prevents our activists from hearing the call for calm and de-escalation,” he added.

French authorities insist New Caledonia’s capital, Nouméa, is back under their control, although barricades remain and pro-independence demonstrators are determined to stay on the streets. Nouméa International Airport remains closed, while an overnight shutdown is in place in New Caledonia until at least June 10.