Emmanuel Macron arrived in New Caledonia on Monday July 24 to begin a tour in the Pacific. The Head of State landed shortly before 9 a.m. (Paris time) at Nouméa airport. Shortly after his arrival, he recorded a duplex interview which is broadcast in the 1 p.m. newspapers of TF1 and France 2 to close the political sequence started in mid-April after the pension crisis, and which resulted in a cabinet reshuffle last week. Follow our live.
Announcements promised. Upon his arrival, Emmanuel Macron said he wished “open a new page” of the institutional project in New Caledonia. The president intends to lay the foundations for the future status of the archipelago, after three referendums which concluded with a no to independence and should make announcements on this subject.
A symbolic gesture expected. For his first visit to New Caledonia since that of 2018, the President of the Republic must present Monday evening the insignia of Commander of the Legion of Honor to Marie-Claude Tjibaou, widow of the assassinated Kanak leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou.
Visit history in the Pacific. Emmanuel Macron will then travel to Vanuatu on Thursday and Papua New Guinea on Friday, where he will be the first French president to visit non-French Pacific islands. He should reaffirm the French presence in the region and listen to local demands.