Paris agrees to establish the state of New Caledonia
13 July 05:12
New Caledonia will become a state, but will not gain full independence from France.
This decision was reached by negotiators in the Paris suburb of Bougival on Saturday, July 12. French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou called the agreement “historic.” “Honor to the courageous negotiators, <…>. It was possible!” – he wrote in his account in X.
This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian".
Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes reported that the agreement provides for the creation of New Caledonian citizenship, which the inhabitants of the archipelago will be able to obtain in addition to French citizenship, as well as the ability of the new state to independently determine its foreign policy. Now, the issue of creating a New Caledonian state will be put to a referendum in New Caledonia and to a vote in the French parliament.
In the spring of 2024, riots broke out in New Caledonia, caused by a reform of the electoral system proposed by Paris. It was supposed to reduce the influence of the indigenous inhabitants of the Kanak archipelago, who make up 40 percent of New Caledonia’s 270,000 population, as the French, who have lived in the territory for at least ten years, would be granted the right to vote.
France established authority over New Caledonia in 1853 and in 1946 granted the colony the status of a French overseas possession. New Caledonia is the world’s third largest producer of nickel, but production is in crisis, and one in five residents of the territory lives below the poverty line.
