New Caledonia’s political parties all sitting for early political talks at the Congress in Nouméa 24 February 2025 – PHOTO RRB Photo: RRB
New Caledonia's opposing politicians, both pro-independence and pro-France, held a joint meeting for the first time in years, under the auspices of visiting French Minister for Overseas, Manuel Valls.
The meeting, held behind closed doors at New Caledonia's Congress on Monday, was a precursor to further talks scheduled later this week, in negotiation mode.
It mainly focused on the "method" to be followed when talks resume, presumably on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Valls told an improvised media conference on Monday evening.
In early February, Valls met all of New Caledonia's political parties represented at the Congress in Paris, but separately.
He then agreed to travel to Nouméa this week to continue the talks, aimed at discussing a comprehensive agreement for a future roadmap regarding New Caledonia's political future after three referenda (in 2018, 2020 and 2021) rejected independence.
After the three consultations, under the 1998 Nouméa Accord, it was prescribed that with a scenario of three rejections of independence, all political stakeholders were to meet and discuss the "situation thus generated".
But since the final referendum in December 2021 (which was boycotted by a significant part of the indigenous Kanak population), all attempts to start these talks have consistently failed, mainly due to the non-attendance of one of the main components of the pro-independence bloc, the Union Calédonienne (UC) party.
Under previous French governments, attempts to push for these talks included a controversial constitutional reform that would have modified the conditions of eligibility to vote at local elections and "unfreeze" the electoral roll to allow any citizen to exercise their right, provided he or she has resided in New Caledonia for at least ten uninterrupted years.
The "frozen" roll, which was supposed to be a temporary and exceptional measure but is still in force, bars anyone born after 1998 to vote at local elections.
The constitutional move triggered ever-growing protests and marches in New Caledonia, mainly from the indigenous Kanak population.
On 13 May 2024, the marches culminated and degenerated into fully-fledged civil unrest, which resulted in 14 deaths, the destruction of hundreds of businesses, looting, arson and a total estimated material damage of some €2.2 billion.
French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls emerges from first meeting with all political parties on 24 February 2025. Photo: NC la 1ère screen capture
Relationship with France, governance and a new 'social' deal
Valls said during the initial Monday meeting, a first of its kind in years, the three main themes chosen for talks later this week were New Caledonia's relationship with France, its governance principles and a new "social" deal, to better include the French Pacific territory's disenfranchised youth.
The talks will also touch on notions of a New Caledonian "citizenship" (that could require a minimum ten years of residency), the related controversial electoral roll's conditions of eligibility that sparked the riots last year but still remains to be addressed, the modalities of a change of status vis-à-vis France, decolonisation and a transfer of the remaining key powers from France.
Also to be discussed are the wider principles of rule of law, democracy.
"There is no taboo, everything is on the table", Valls said, assuring France was "determined to reach an agreement" and that New Caledonia must remain "united and indivisible".
He said should talks continue in the same spirit, with all participants, and should there be the need for a little more time, he may extend his stay in New Caledonia.
On Monday, during the meeting at the Congress House in Nouméa, all pro and anti-independence parties were present.
After a first "plenary" session, the French minister once again spoke to each party privately and individually to clarify any remaining doubts.
At the weekend, Valls had publicly clashed with one of the main pro-France leaders, Nicolas Metzdorf, who objected that the minister had described the indigenous Kanak people as the historical "first people" (First Nation).
But speaking to local media on Monday, after the first meeting, Valls said he had insisted that all political stakeholders of any party were now faced with their respective "historic responsibility".
"I think we will continue, together"
"I think we will continue, together, to discuss and negotiate under this format, where all of New Caledonia's political groups accept to speak to each other and with the government of France", Valls said.
On Tuesday 25 February 2025, New Caledonia's pro-independence FLNKS (Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front) is to hold a meeting to nominate its new political bureau and also decide whether it will continue to engage in the talks with Valls.
But two large components of the FLNKS, which is now de facto dominated by UC, the UPM (Progressist Union in Melanesia) and PALIKA (Kanak liberation Party), have last year distanced themselves from the pro-independence front and have endorsed a more moderate path.
UC and its new FLNKS have already stated they wanted, among other things, a fast full independence and sovereignty process with a so-called "Kanaky Agreement" to be signed in September 2025, followed by a 5-year transition period.
UPM and PALIKA, who are also part of the talks in their own right, as caucuses represented at the Congress, are more open to the notion of independence "in association with France", more similar to a Cook Islands-New Zealand pattern.
"The heart of these negotiations, for us, is to reformulate the relationship between New Caledonia and France. The time we have ahead of us is precious. We have to make the most of it to reach an agreement", UNI-PALIKA leader Jean-Pierre Djaïwé said after the Monday meeting.
UC leader Emmanuel Tjibaou said one positive point is that the French approach is now different, compared to previous governments in Paris.
Politicians to 'put some water into their wine'
Both Les Loyalistes and Rassemblement-LR parties (who support the statu quo of New Caledonia remaining part of France), are in favour of significant changes to give more powers to each of New Caledonia's three provinces.
Their leaders did not wish to comment on Monday evening after the first meeting.
But Rassemblement figure Virginie Ruffenach, before the meeting started on Monday at the Congress, said all parties now had to "put some water into their wine" and refrain from any further inflammatory remarks, a direct reference to the weekend clash between Valls and Metzdorf.
"We are now in a period of consensus, what people want is peace. We have a country to build," she said.
