New Caledonia's pro-independence party won't attend Paris meeting

New Caledonia's pro-independence Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) announced on Tuesday that it would not attend the meeting on the institutional future of the French archipelago in the South Pacific, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday in Paris.

Announced in December by Macron, this meeting aimed to "provide clarifications" on the so-called Bougival Agreement, which notably provides for the creation of a New Caledonian state enshrined in the French Constitution.

Approved in July by the entire anti-independence camp, it was nevertheless rejected by the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), which remains the main pro-independence movement in the territory located 17,000 km from mainland France.

"Paris is deaf and only understands the power dynamic, which is why we will not attend the meeting," FLNKS President Christian Tein told a press conference in Nouméa.

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"The government is trying to confine us and all the Caledonian stakeholders to Bougival. We cannot endorse this," he declared.

"Why go to Paris to discuss this agreement, which we reject and which is unacceptable to us?" he added, warning the government against forcing a solution.

"Beware of the timing of regrets," he insisted, also questioning the willingness of those opposed to independence to negotiate, "since they say they won't budge an inch on the Bougival agreement."

"We can't decide everything from Paris when the solutions must be found here," Tein concluded.

Public consultation

To try to revive the process in an archipelago marked by serious violence in the spring of 2024, which left 14 dead and devastated the local economy, the French Minister for Overseas Territories, Naïma Moutchou, had proposed to organise an "early citizen consultation" in March 2026, before the adoption of the constitutional law necessary for its implementation.

But this prospect has raised concerns, even among supporters of the agreement.

The National Union for Independence (UNI) made its support conditional on amendments to the text, and the Caledonian Congress, consulted for its opinion on 8 December, confirmed that the project was deadlocked with 19 votes in favour, 14 against, and 19 abstentions.

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This choice by the FLNKS is "a disappointment" for Philippe Dunoyer, of the non-independence movement Caledonia Together (center-right), who also points to the impasse in which the draft agreement finds itself.

"There must be no reward for an empty chair," also reacted Virginie Ruffenach, vice-president of the Rally-The Republicans (non-independence).

"This is proof of irresponsibility because New Caledonia is at the end of its rope and in this context, our responsibility is to finalise an agreement in Paris," she said.

(with newswires)