New Caledonia
New Caledonia: Uncertainty and division intensify as Paris imposes its will
Two years after the inconclusive third independence referendum under the 1998 Noumea Accord, uncertainty and tensions are mounting in New Caledonia. To force local discussion…
New Caledonia: France’s threat to impose change unilaterally weakened
New Caledonia’s political future remains uncertain, two years after a contested independence referendum in December 2021. All independence parties reject the pro-France…
New Caledonia: Independence leader wins French Senate seat over Macron favourite
France held its national senatorial elections on 24 September 2023, coincidentally the 170th anniversary of France claiming possession of New Caledonia in 1853. Of two…
Uncertainty in New Caledonia
France’s Interior and Overseas Territories Minister Gérald Darmanin visited Noumea from 1 to 4 June to keep pressure on local parties to agree on New Caledonia’s political future,…
France tightens the screws in New Caledonia
New Caledonian parties are meeting in Paris this week for talks that France hopes might break a deadlock over the territory’s future. After a disputed independence referendum in…
The China factor in France’s growing engagement in the “peaceful sea”
In recent years, France has stepped up its Pacific engagement. In October 2020, it appointed Christophe Penot as its first ambassador for the Indo-Pacific. It released an updated…
Australia can’t stay silent on decolonisation in the Pacific
The newly elected Albanese government has made initial steps to reset its relationship with France, ruptured by the AUKUS agreement and the cancellation of the $90 billion Naval…
New Caledonia: Not either/or when it comes to France and China
Is China about to plant a red-and-yellow flag in Nouméa, its latest Pacific trophy?
Not really. But that’s the impression local politicians are increasingly adept at conveying,…
AUKUS debate “influenced France’s attitude towards New Caledonia”
As voters in New Caledonia prepare for this Sunday’s referendum on self-determination – a poll that will be boycotted by independence supporters – New Caledonian leaders have said…
New Caledonia’s third independence referendum, and the day after
The third and final self-determination referendum in New Caledonia will take place on 12 December – the date settled after a week of ministerial consultations in Paris commencing…