France's Macron calls talks on New Caledonia future
New Caledonian elected officials, as well as political, economic and civil society leaders would be invited to the discussions to start on July 2nd, a source familiar with the matter said. It was not immediately clear where the meeting would be held.
The French president in an invitation letter obtained by AFP said discussions would last 'as long as necessary' to address key issues 'with all the seriousness they deserve'.
'Beyond major institutional topics, I would like for our discussions to touch on economic and societal matters,' Macron added.
Home to around 270,000 people and nearly 17,000 kilometres from Paris, New Caledonia is one of several overseas territories that remain an integral part of France.
New Caledonia has been ruled from Paris since the 1800s, but many indigenous Kanaks resent France's power over their islands and want fuller autonomy or independence.
Unrest broke out in May 2024 after Paris planned to give voting rights to thousands of non-indigenous long-term residents, which Kanaks fear would leave them in a permanent minority, crushing their chances of winning independence.
The riots – the most violent since the 1980s – led to the death of 14 people and caused billions of euros of damage.
The president's decision to host talks alongside the Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls also comes after a French court freed independence leader Christian Tein in June.
Tein, who hails from the Kanak group, had been held in custody in eastern France since June 2024 over the rioting in the nickel-rich archipelago.
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Investigating magistrates concluded there was no proof that Tein was preparing an armed uprising against the government, according to a source close to the case.
The last independence referendum in New Caledonia was held in 2021, and was boycotted by pro-independence groups over the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Kanak population.
The referendum was the last of three since 2018, all of which rejected New Caledonian independence.
Since the 2021 referendum – which pro-independence campaigners had requested be rescheduled – the political situation in the archipelago has been in deadlock.
Valls led negotiations in May between pro-independence and anti-independence groups, but they did not 'reach an agreement about the institutional future of the territory', Macron said in the invitation letter.
Earlier this month, the president declared he wanted a 'new project' for New Caledonia.
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