13 deaths in New Caledonia, migratory pressure in Mayotte, violence breaking out in Martinique because of the high cost of living… Urgent files are piling up on the desk of the new Minister of Overseas Affairs François-Noël Buffet. He gives the broad outlines of his policy in an exclusive interview given to Outre-mer la 1ère this Thursday, October 10.
Short but intense. In eight minutes, François-Noël Buffet, appointed on September 23 to the post of Overseas Minister reporting to the Prime Minister, covered the major issues affecting overseas territories, during an exclusive interview given to Overseas the first this Thursday, October 10.
His first ministerial visit will be to New Caledonia, from October 16 to 18, because the Caillou is experiencing a wave of violence not seen in 40 years. The riots broke out on May 13 after the approval by the Senate and the National Assembly of the text on the enlargement of the electoral body.
In almost five months, 13 deaths are to be deplored. The New Caledonian economy also collapsed with 6,000 private sector jobs destroyed, not to mention the nickel sector in great difficulty.
This is partly to “report on the material situation of the damage caused since May 13“that the minister wanted to go to the Caillou as a priority.”I want to be able to quickly initiate reconstruction: the reconstruction of our businesses, […] of our public buildings and we really need to be able to get things started“, he told Outre-mer the 1st.
If he validates in principle the extension of the curfew until October 14, he would like to reiterate his support to the population: “My presence on the ground is also there to show all the interest that the government has in the New Caledonian situation, in all New Caledonians without exception and in the will […] to move forward.”
To move forward, rebuild and avoid financial bankruptcy, New Caledonian elected officials are asking the French state for 4.2 billion euros over five years. A sum that the minister has not yet promised.
“The State will be behind New Caledonia. It remains to be determined both the quantum and the conditionshe nuances. But of course the State will keep its word, it has already kept its word: more than 400 million euros have been provided to New Caledonia to help deal with the social consequences but also to help businesses. There is no reason why the State should not continue this partnership.”
The last but no less important reason for his trip to the Caillou is to “go and explain to our compatriots the reasons for the postponement of the provincial elections“. François-Noël Buffet indeed confirms that they “will be postponed” with a passage of the text before the Senate then the National Assembly between October and November.
A postponement supposed to allow time to talk about the economic and social future of the island but also the thaw of the electorate, the question at the origin of the riots. “This will necessarily be the subject of discussion“, he confirms, putting some formality into it.
He remains very careful to avoid committing the government’s word: “I would still like to leave the responsibility of initially leading the discussions to local elected officials. The State will watch with great interest, naturally will say what it wishes, but also let the field, if possible when calm returns, resume discussions.”
Let us recall that Prime Minister Michel Barnier announced during his general policy speech to the National Assembly that the text on the unfreezing of the electorate “will not be[it] not submitted to Congress“, but that this passage has disappeared from the version delivered before the Senate.
After New Caledonia in May, it is now Martinique which is the scene of violence and where a curfew is in place from this Thursday, October 10 in the evening.
Behind these clashes between demonstrators and the police, a mobilization led by the RPPRAC, the Rally for the Protection of Afro-Caribbean Peoples and Resources, which started on 1er September 2024. This movement, which is gaining momentum over the weeks, points to a subject that has been denounced for several years: the high cost of living overseas.
Two Martinican deputies also questioned the Minister of Overseas Territories this Wednesday, October 9 during current affairs questions: “Even today, the government’s only response to the legitimate demands of Martinicans is repression!“, Marcellin Nadeau was annoyed.
François-Noël Buffet’s response remains the same to our microphone as in front of the National Assembly: “Yes, public order must be the same everywhere throughout the territory.” The minister, who hopes for a rapid return to calm, recalled that “discussions are open“, that “the State will be there” through the prefect, in particular during a meeting expected this Thursday, October 10 with local stakeholders.
Among the avenues for reflection to ensure identical prices between Martinique and France, he himself recognized that he “At some point we will have to accept putting everything on the table and looking at things that [lui] seem perfectly inexplicable“.”We cannot remain in this situation, for our overseas compatriots“, he concluded on this point.
There Martinique will also be the minister’s second trip. A trip planned for the end of October and beginning of November after New Caledonia and before Mayottean archipelago in structural crisis for several years.
Mutiny of inmates and hostage-taking of guards on September 28 linked to prison overcrowding in the only prison in the archipelago; relaunch of “grouped flights” intended to return nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo to their country, according to an instruction from the new Minister of the Interior; cholera epidemic which has just ended, linked to recurring water shortages and sanitation problems…
Almost every week, Mayotte gets people talking about it. Since its departmentalization in 2011, the archipelago has suffered a series of health, migration and security crises, without real change despite attempts by public authorities to stop them.
In February 2024, the Minister of Overseas Territories at the time announced a future constitutional reform to completely abolish land rights in Mayotte (already exceptionally restricted compared to the rest of France), as well as the end of territorialization. residence permits, which prevented any person obtaining regularization in Mayotte from going elsewhere in France.
On this point, François-Noël Buffet declared that this bill was being studied by the government: “You know that it covers several subjects, we are re-examining it and probably we will have to legislate on it.”
However, he insisted that “the migration question“is certainly”a fundamental element but it is not the only one“.”Unemployment rates are too high, poverty is too highhe lamented, insisting that it was also necessary “to give a future to the Mahorais: an economic future, organized structural development for the years to come for Mayotte, it absolutely needs it!”
While Matignon presents the 2025 budget project this Thursday, October 10 in the evening, the first measures concerning Overseas Territories have already appeared in the press. In a preliminary draft, the Prime Minister envisages a saving of 200 million euros for the Overseas mission next year, a reduction of 9.2% of the budget. While Eric Cocquerel, the LFI president of the finance committee at the Palais Bourbon, castigated “a big bleed“, the overseas parliamentarians crushed this announcement.
To the overseas question the 1st “Will you be able to save your budget?“, the Overseas Minister replied: “I hope so, in any case I’m doing everything for it.“
Among the arguments put forward, that of trust: “It is important that the word of the State, which is committed in particular through contracts, is maintained, is kept, it is essential in terms of trust.”
Not sure that this argument is sufficient. François-Noël Buffet will in any case participate in the parliamentary debate in the coming weeks to defend his budget, while initially making ministerial trips to New Caledonia, Martinique and Mayotte.
He will then chair the interministerial committee for Overseas Territories (CIOM) scheduled for the first quarter of 2025. A niche while waiting to give “a date that will be certain” : “CWhat I don’t want is for us to postpone saying ‘We’re not ready, we’re postponing’, there’s no question of operating like that!“A response to critics who judged this schedule incompatible with the urgency of the situation like that of Martinique.