oppositions struggle to make their criticisms of the executive heard

Beyond the state of emergency, the oppositions are demanding a political and diplomatic response to the protest against the reform of the electoral body.

A state of emergency was declared by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday May 15 to restore calm in New Caledonia. The archipelago has been shaken by violent riots and clashes since the start of the week, on the sidelines of the independence protest against the constitutional reform which aims to expand the Caledonian electorate. Five people were killed, including two gendarmes and three Kanaks (all three killed by civilians).

The state of emergency has the effect of restricting the freedoms of Caledonians and strengthening the powers of law enforcement. But for opposition MPs, this will not be enough to get out of the crisis.

For the Insoumis Bastien Lachaud, it is imperative to recreate the link: “The government must make a very strong gesture to show that it understands the complexity of the New Caledonian situation. It must withdraw its text and it must implement a dialogue mission to reach an overall political agreement.”

But where to discuss and above all who to lead this dialogue mission after months of tension? According to Yohann Gillet, vice-president of the National Rally in the Assembly, it is up to Emmanuel Macron to take care of it and the situation demands it. “The Caledonians are French. Five times in history, they have reaffirmed their wish to be French, so the President of the Republic must give them more consideration”he believes.

Conversely, for the communist Guyanese deputy Jean-Victor Castor, “there must be a neutral mission”. The president is, according to him, no longer the best interlocutor to guarantee this consideration to Caledonians: “The government today has lost its credibility, because it took sides. Whereas the challenge today is to escape this spiral of violence.”

Emmanuel Macron had planned a videoconference with Caledonian elected officials for Thursday May 16, but the latter “refuse dialogue”, says the Elysée. He also instructed his Prime Minister Gabriel Attal to soon invite representatives of the archipelago to relaunch discussions.