Emmanuel Macron proposes a meeting in Paris to relaunch the dialogue on a reform of the electoral body

A way to defuse tensions? The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, is proposing to invite all parties to the debate around the institutional future of New Caledonia to Paris, his entourage announced on Sunday May 12. An announcement which comes on the eve of the start of the examination in the National Assembly of a constitutional bill for the opening of the electoral body, contested by the separatists.

“Reaffirming his desire to favor dialogue as part of the path to the future that he called for building in Nouméa last July, the President of the Republic asked that all representatives be invited to Paris for a meeting with the governmentexplained those around him.

A text that could “even further minimize the indigenous Kanak people”

Already adopted by the Senate, this constitutional reform is examined Monday and Tuesday by the Assembly, where the government hopes for identical adoption. The text would then have to be adopted by all the parliamentarians meeting in Congress in Versailles, by three-fifths of the votes cast.

In the event of identical adoption of the text by the deputies, Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron promised that he would not summon the parliamentarians “in the process”. The text nevertheless includes a date of entry into force of July 1, which implies a vote by Congress before this date.

The government project aims to integrate residents who have lived in New Caledonia for at least 10 years into the electorate for the provincial elections. It would put an end to the “freezing” of this electoral body, which has the consequence of depriving nearly one in five voters residing in the archipelago of the right to vote. LThe separatists see the risk of “even further minimize the indigenous Kanak people” for the benefit of new arrivals. The next provincial election is supposed to be held before December 15.