If it is difficult to give the exact number of demonstrators this Saturday, one thing is certain, activists from both camps mobilized in large numbers. Supporters of thawing the electoral body and opponents each brought together 20,000 people according to the police. Both gatherings took place peacefully.
At the heart of the two demonstrations organized in Nouméa this Saturday April 13, the thaw of the electoral body. While the Senate adopted at the beginning of the month the constitutional bill aimed at expanding the list of those who will be able to vote in the next provincial elections, each camp mobilized its forces this morning.
The Loyalists and the Rally, in favor of the thaw, gathered at the Bay of Moselle at 8 a.m., while the separatists, who are opposed to it, gathered at the call of the CCAT, the action coordination unit. of land, on the Place des Cocotiers around the same time.
If the two camps each claim between 30 and 40,000 people in their procession, the police estimate that the two mobilizations each attracted around 20,000 people. One thing is certain, the activists responded, on both sides.
The city center, crisscrossed by a large police force, was closed to automobile traffic in many streets and public transport had changed its route or even simply interrupted its lines. This was particularly the case for the Carsud network, which usually serves the municipalities of Greater Nouméa. Consequently, many people joined their respective gathering places on foot, blue white red or Kanaky flag in hand.
“We knew that this gathering was important, we knew that we had to be here today to say that we are at home here, that we want the electorate to thaw, that we want it live together”
Sonia Backès, leader of the Loyalists
The first procession to set off, at 8:45 a.m., was that of the loyalists. The thousands of supporters of the thaw of the electoral body headed towards Bir Hakeim Square, where speeches took place, before returning to the Moselle. “VSis the largest demonstration in the history of New Caledonia“, assured this morning the deputy of the second constituency, Nicolas Metzdorf, who is also thee rapporteur of the constitutional reform concerning the unfreezing of the electorate, to the National Assembly.
“We knew that this gathering was important, we knew that we had to be here today to say that we are at home here, that we want the electorate to thaw, that we want it live together”notably declared Sonia Backès, the leader of the loyalists.
Video: the report by Brigitte Whaap and Gaël Detcheverry.
We are here to denounce the force of the State. We want to show our colors and show that we exist.
Helene Lewene, CCAT protester.
During this time, the independence delegations followed one another on the Place des Cocotiers, around the Place de la Paix, where the statue representing Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Jacques Lafleur shaking hands sits. A place which was not chosen by chance, as Thierry Kameremoin, member of the CCAT, recalls: “Why Place de la Paix? It’s three things: an institutional framework, freedom for the prisoners of the time, the political prisoners. And then what we called at that time the disarmament of the movement. This means we will do something else. With other modes of expression than those we used, but never again what we were able to do at that time.” “We are here to denounce the force of the State. We want to show our colors and show that we exist“, testified Hélène Lewene, CCAT demonstrator.
Customs were then presented to the traditional representatives of the Drubea Kapumë area by delegations from the four corners of Grande Terre and the Islands, before speeches punctuated the morning.
Video: the report by Malia Noukouan and Cédric Michaut.
The loyalist activists dispersed after their return to Moselle, around 10:30 a.m. The CCAT then requested authorization to parade in turn, as the two processions were no longer likely to cross paths. Because it was one of the fears of the police, mobilized all day long. But both gatherings took place calmly and smoothly.
Other mobilizations were organized across the country in support of the CCAT. They brought together a few dozen people each time, in Voh, Île des Pins, Ouvéa and Maré but also in Bélep and Népoui.
The independence activists therefore set out in the afternoon to reach Mwa Ka. They dispersed peacefully in the early evening.
The legislative process to expand the electorate has yet to take its course. The draft constitutional law will be submitted to the National Assembly for a vote on May 13 before being presented to parliamentarians meeting in Congress in Versailles to be definitively adopted. Unless a local agreement is reached. In this case the process would be interrupted so that new provisions could be studied. The two camps will therefore probably have the opportunity before then to mobilize again and compare their forces.