Macron: Changes in New Caledonia “suspended”, not reversed

Emmanuel Macron will hold a press conference in Paris on Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Photo: Delivered

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he had decided to “suspend” rather than withdraw the controversial constitutional amendment in New Caledonia that had sparked violent unrest in the French Pacific archipelago.

During a press conference in Paris, the French President mentioned all the “open projects” of the now dissolved National Assembly and said: “My wish is that they can be resumed (after the new elections) as soon as a majority is confirmed, expanded or formed with other partners.”

Regarding the draft constitution for New Caledonia, Macron said it had been “approved equally by both houses of parliament”.

“I have decided to suspend the dialogue,” he said, adding: “During this period there should be no room for ambiguity. The dialogue must be suspended in order to give maximum strength to the dialogue on the ground and to restore order.”

During a lightning visit to New Caledonia on May 23, Macron indicated that he would convene Congress sometime in late June, but would not “force” the adoption of the controversial text.

He said at the time that he was prepared to wait a little longer to allow for comprehensive talks between local leaders on New Caledonia’s long-term political future, but the end-June deadline remained.

On Sunday, in a surprise announcement, Macron announced the dissolution of the French National Assembly (lower house) and called early parliamentary elections for June 30 and July 7.

Analysis – what this means now

Given the dissolution of the National Assembly and the calling of early parliamentary elections, the new situation makes it technically impossible to apply the adopted text (which still requires final approval by the French Congress) in its current form: the constitutional law, as approved in its current form by both chambers, is drafted to “enter into force on 1 July 2024” (Article 2).

But now the new lower house will not be formed before mid-July and the French Congress (which includes the National Assembly) cannot meet before then.

If, as he said on Wednesday, Macron still wants to resume all “open projects” after the new elections, this will probably depend on the outcome of the parliamentary elections and the nature of the majority that emerges.

Even if there were a will to revive the draft Constitution of New Caledonia, it would then most likely be necessary to amend it (to change the date in Article 2 to 1 July 2024), thus starting all over again in the legislative process, that is, a vote in both upper houses, another in the lower house and then a final vote in a joint bicameral session of Congress.

The aim of the amendment was to change the electoral system in local elections in New Caledonia, in particular the rules governing eligibility to vote in these elections (for the three provinces of New Caledonia and its local congress).

It was passed by the National Assembly on 14 May and by the Senate (upper house) a few weeks earlier, on 2 April.

However, the proposed constitutional amendment – ​​which would open the electorate to around 25,000 citizens, mostly non-indigenous Kanaks – remains in limbo as it still has to go through a final phase.

This final step (which cannot take place for now) is a vote in the French Congress during a special session of the Senate and the National Assembly with the required 60 percent majority.

Moderate, pro-independence PALIKA leaders held a press conference in Nouméa last month.
Photo: LNC

Local parties react

On Wednesday, a few hours before Macron’s latest comments, PALIKA (Kanak Liberation Party), one of the more moderate parties of the New Caledonian independence party FLNKS, said in a press release that it now considers the controversial constitutional amendment on the local electoral register to be “outdated”.

PALIKA therefore called for the removal of all remaining obstacles erected by hardliners of the independence movement (including the Union Calédonienne and its CCAT (Field Actions Coordinating Committee)) so that talks can begin on a comprehensive agreement on the political future of New Caledonia.

The moderate Independence Party said the call was a consequence of Macron’s dissolution of the National Assembly.

FLNKS will hold its national congress on June 15th.

Since last month, there have been numerous calls from pro-independence and pro-French parties, as well as religious and civil society leaders, for the text to be scrapped entirely as a prerequisite for a return to some form of civil peace and normality in the French Pacific archipelago.

Similar demands have been made by former French prime ministers who were directly responsible for New Caledonia’s affairs during their terms of office.

“The end of the life of this constitutional law” – Mapou

Even before Macron’s dissolution announcement, New Caledonia’s President Louis Mapou mentioned the controversial text in a speech at the weekend.

Mapou said the current unrest in New Caledonia, which is mainly driven by independence parties, has de facto “signalled the end of this constitutional law”.

However, he also called on Macron to make it clear that he intends to withdraw the controversial text, which is seen as the main cause of the unrest in New Caledonia.

He said the text, which he believed had been “decided unilaterally” by France, had “reopened a wound that had taken so long to heal”.

The constitutional law is “contrary to the trend of New Caledonia’s recent history” and is “useless because it must be part of a global project”.

“In my humble opinion, this constitutional law cannot therefore continue to exist.”

“By saying (last month in Noumea) that they would not prevail, the French President also expressed between the lines his death and his slow surrender…

“It is difficult to imagine that the president still wants to submit this draft constitution (to the French Congress),” Mapou said.

A “dialogue mission” consisting of three high-ranking civil servants was in New Caledonia from May 23 until last week.

Their task was to resume talks between all local parties and economic, religious and civil society actors.

The overall objective was to reach a consensus on the political future of New Caledonia.

Last week, the three returned to Paris to report the situation to the President.

When she left last week, they said they were returning to New Caledonia.

The violent unrest that began last month has resulted in fires, looting and riots, the deaths of nine people (including two French gendarmes) and the destruction of up to 500 shops. An estimated 200 houses have been burned down, with estimated costs of up to 1 billion euros.