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New Caledonia rejects independence from France

The South Pacific territory of New Caledonia chose to remain French on Sunday, narrowly rejecting independence in a tightly-fought referendum marked by a high turnout.

Published: 4 October 2020 15:29 CEST

New Caledonia rejects independence from France

A person picks up a voting form at a polling station in the referendum on independence on the French South Pacific territory of New Caledonia in Noumea on October 4, 2020. AFP

The vote rejecting a breakaway from France after almost 170 years came in at 53.26 percent, according to final results, down from 56.7 percent in a referendum two years ago.

French President Emmanuel Macron — who had said previously that “France would be less beautiful without New Caledonia” — on Sunday said he was grateful to the archipelago's voters.

'Gratitude', 'humility'

“I welcome this sign of confidence in the republic with a profound sense of gratitude,” Macron said from his office.

He added that he also felt “humility” at the outcome which showed a clear progression of the pro-independence vote compared with the independence referendum in 2018.

A ballot box at a polling station in the referendum on independence on the French South Pacific territory of New Caledonia in Noumea on October 4, 2020. Theo Rouby / AFP

Sunday's referendum was part of a carefully negotiated decolonisation plan agreed in 1998 which ended a deadly conflict between the mostly pro-independence indigenous Kanak population and the descendants of European settlers.

That violence culminated in a bloody, drawn-out hostage crisis in 1988 that saw 19 separatists killed, along with six police and special forces personnel.

Another referendum can be held by 2022 so long as the poll is requested by at least a third of the local legislature.

Most political observers had forecast a win for the no-vote as well as a narrower margin.

Turnout was 85.64 percent, more than four points higher than last time, as the prospect of a tight race brought voters out in droves, patiently awaiting their turns at polling stations.

“I waited 45 minutes. It's very important for me to vote,” said retiree Germaine Le Demezet in the capital Noumea.

People wait in line to cast their vote in the referendum on independence on the French South Pacific territory of New Caledonia, in Noumea on October 4, 2020. Theo Rouby / AFP

'We need to know'

“I have children and grandchildren here, the future needs to be clear and we need to know what's going to happen to us.”

New Caledonia has taken strict measures to keep the coronavirus out of the territory, and with case numbers low, the referendum took place without masks and other measures.

A man casts his vote at a polling station. Theo Rouby / AFP

New Caledonia, situated between Australia and Fiji and sometimes called “The Pebble”, was seized by France in 1853 and is home to 270,000 people.

The economy's mainstays are the production of metals, especially nickel of which New Caledonia is a major global producer, as well as tourism and financial support from mainland France.

A view of New Caledonia, AFP.

The French government, from more than 16,000 kilometres (10,000 miles) away, subsidises the territory with around 1.5 billion euros ($1.75 billion) every year, the equivalent of more than 15 percent of New Caledonia's gross domestic product.

A special authorisation allowing the French national flag to be used in campaign spots angered the pro-independence Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), which accused Paris of taking sides against independence. The last colonies to gain independence from France were Djibouti in 1977.

Member comments

Anonymous - 5 October 2020 at 07:52 CEST

They know which side their bread is buttered on.

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Azerbaijan vehemently rejects the accusation it bears responsibility for the riots that have led to the deaths of five people and rattled the Paris government.

But it is just the latest in a litany of tensions between Paris and Baku and not the first time France has accused Azerbaijan of being behind an alleged disinformation campaign.

The riots in New Caledonia, a French territory lying between Australia and Fiji, were sparked by moves to agree a new voting law that supporters of independence from France say discriminates against the indigenous Kanak population.

Paris points to the sudden emergence of Azerbaijani flags alongside Kanak symbols in the protests, while a group linked to the Baku authorities is openly backing separatists while condemning Paris.

“This isn’t a fantasy. It’s a reality,” interior minister Gérald Darmanin told television channel France 2 when asked if Azerbaijan, China and Russia were interfering in New Caledonia.

“I regret that some of the Caledonian pro-independence leaders have made a deal with Azerbaijan. It’s indisputable,” he alleged.

But he added: “Even if there are attempts at interference… France is sovereign on its own territory, and so much the better”.

“We completely reject the baseless accusations,” Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry spokesman Ayhan Hajizadeh said.

“We refute any connection between the leaders of the struggle for freedom in Caledonia and Azerbaijan.”

In images widely shared on social media, a reportage broadcast Wednesday on the French channel TF1 showed some pro-independence supporters wearing T-shirts adorned with the Azerbaijani flag.

Tensions between Paris and Baku have grown in the wake of the 2020 war and 2023 lightning offensive that Azerbaijan waged to regain control of its breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region from ethnic Armenian separatists.

France is a traditional ally of Christian Armenia, Azerbaijan’s neighbour and historic rival, and is also home to a large Armenian diaspora.

Darmanin said Azerbaijan – led since 2003 by President Ilham Aliyev, who succeeded his father Heydar – was a “dictatorship”.

On Wednesday, the Paris government also banned social network TikTok from operating in New Caledonia.

Tiktok, whose parent company is Chinese, has been widely used by protesters. Critics fear it is being employed to spread disinformation coming from foreign countries.

Azerbaijan invited separatists from the French territories of Martinique, French Guiana, New Caledonia and French Polynesia to Baku for a conference in July 2023.

The meeting saw the creation of the “Baku Initiative Group”, whose stated aim is to support “French liberation and anti-colonialist movements”.

The group published a statement this week condemning the French parliament’s proposed change to New Caledonia’s constitution, which would allow outsiders who moved to the territory at least 10 years ago the right to vote in its elections.

Pro-independence forces say that would dilute the vote of Kanaks, who make up about 40 percent of the population.

“We stand in solidarity with our Kanak friends and support their fair struggle,” the Baku Initiative Group said.

Raphael Glucksmann, the lawmaker heading the list for the French Socialists in June’s European Parliament elections, told Public Senat television that Azerbaijan had made “attempts to interfere… for months”.

He said the underlying problem behind the unrest was a domestic dispute over election reform, not agitation fomented by “foreign actors”.

But he accused Azerbaijan of “seizing on internal problems.”

A French government source, who asked not to be named, said pro-Azerbaijani social media accounts had on Wednesday posted an edited montage purporting to show two white police officers with rifles aimed at dead Kanaks.

“It’s a pretty massive campaign, with around 4,000 posts generated by (these) accounts,” the source told AFP.

“They are reusing techniques already used during a previous smear campaign called Olympia.”

In November, France had already accused actors linked to Azerbaijan of carrying out a disinformation campaign aimed at damaging its reputation over its ability to host the Olympic Games in Paris. Baku also rejected these accusations.