(Photo by Pilettes via Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED)
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In May 2024, riots broke out throughout the French-controlled islands of New Caledonia, leading to the death of three Kanak individuals and a French security official. The violence erupted after France’s National Assembly proposed electoral changes that would give French residents who have lived on the islands for at least ten years the right to vote. The Indigenous Kanak people, who make up roughly 40 percent of the total population, have argued that the move would greatly undermine their push for independence as it would give French settlers more influence in possible referendums.
The protests against the proposed legislative changes have led French President Emmanuel Macron to suspend the controversial electoral reforms and open the door for dialogue. However, whether the French government will attempt to push for the reforms or simply suspend them for the foreseeable future remains unclear.
For decades, the Kanak have demanded independence, but they either faced brutal repression or were outnumbered by French settlers in past referendums. Today, tensions between the settlers and the Kanak remain high. As long as the French government continues to ignore the concerns of the Kanak, protests and demonstrations will continue.
The Islands of Kanaky and French Colonial Rule
The Kanak are the Indigenous inhabitants of the Islands of Kanaky, known today as New Caledonia. Having lived on the islands for more than 5,000 years, the Kanaks, who are ethnically Melanesian, have long relied on the islands for fishing, gathering, and agriculture. In such a way, the Kanaks have, for millennia, used, occupied, and acted as stewards for the Islands of Kanaky.
However, in 1853, the French Empire formally colonized the Islands of Kanaky to use them as a penal colony for prisoners from mainland France. After annexing the islands, the French settlers took sovereignty over the lands from the Kanaks, leading to increased violence and repression of Kanak identity and culture. In 1878, French soldiers brutally suppressed a revolt that started because of the land dispossession, leading to the death of 600 Kanaks and the exile of over 1,500 more.
In 1887, the French Empire imposed the Code de l’indigénat, a set of laws and regulations that assigned the Indigenous populations of France’s colonies to an inferior legal status. The Code, only removed in 1946, deprived the Kanaks of their civil and political rights, preventing them from having any say in the islands’ affairs. The actions and policies pursued in New Caledonia mirrored those in other French colonial entities, such as Algeria, where the French committed numerous atrocities against the Indigenous population.
Why France Wants to Control New Caledonia
For France today, maintaining New Caledonia as an overseas department serves as a token of prestige, one which helps France retain its status as a global power. Retaining control over New Caledonia gives France influence in the Pacific region, especially since it maintains a permanent military occupancy there. With Chinese and U.S. tensions over the South China Sea, France considers its naval and air force presence on the islands to be of utmost geopolitical importance.
Furthermore, the archipelago’s natural resources, primarily its nickel, remain an important source of revenue for France. New Caledonia maintains the fifth-largest reserve of nickel in the world. In 2021, miners in New Caledonia extracted nearly 200,000 tons of nickel, a production level surpassed only by Russia and Indonesia. French companies benefit greatly from access to the nickel industry. And as long as New Caledonia remains a part of France, they can also receive generous loans and subsidies from the French government.
Starting in the 1960s, an economic boom on the islands occurred due to the mining of this nickel. This economic growth was accompanied by a large wave of French immigration to the island which began an increased demand for independence by the Kanak People.
The Fight for Independence
The recent riots are only one example of a long historical struggle for autonomy and independence for the Kanak in New Caledonia. For centuries, they have fought for legitimacy from the French government. Yet, like other Indigenous Peoples under French colonial rule in the Pacific and the Caribbean, the French have continually undermined the Kanak’s efforts for decolonization.
The Kanak have staged several uprisings against the French – the most recent being in 1984. Each time, however, the French desire for control over the island led to the crackdown of any independence movements. A breakthrough occurred in 1998 when leaders signed the Nouméa Accord, which gradually increased autonomy for Kanaks and gave pro-independence leaders more influence in political affairs.
Full decolonization frankly remains out of reach for the Kanak as long as they remain outnumbered by French settlers, who overwhelmingly support New Caledonia remaining a part of France. Unless major demographic changes take place, it is unlikely that the French government will give up political and territorial control over the islands. However, as the Kanak’s resistance to France continues to gain international attention, there may be shifting tides in the control over New Caledonia.
Troubled Past, Potential Future
The recent violence in May is only one example of the many times the Kanak have pushed back against French rule in New Caledonia. French control of the Kanak dates back to the mid-1800s when France formally seized sovereignty and began distributing stolen land to French settlers. Today, the Kanak make up less than half of the island’s total population, which means they cannot outnumber the French population in any independence referendums.
The desire for France to push electoral reforms which would grant even more French settlers the right to vote was just another attempt by France to solidify permanent political control over New Caledonia. The protests we saw in response are simply the Kanak attempting to defend their autonomy against a move that is nothing less than a colonial power grab. As France continues to ignore the growing demand for independence by the Kanak, civil unrest and political instability will surely follow. Efforts by the Kanak to decolonize the islands continue. Though the Kanak are fighting an uphill battle, it remains crucial that international media attention does not ignore the ongoing fight for independence.
Edited by Isaac Code
