Macron personally intervenes to calm New Caledonia

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, the Austrian newspaper “Standard” in an article about the continuation of unrest in New Caledonia, France and wrote: Tourists are leaving this tropical island in the Pacific Ocean under the rule of the French government due to ongoing unrest. On the other hand, French President Emmanuel Macron wants to go to this area to calm the situation, which is increasingly turning into a powder warehouse. He may not yet know where in the region he wants to land: the international airport in Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia (population 180,000), is currently closed due to unrest.

However, the French president today On Tuesday, he announced that he will visit Australia’s northeastern archipelago today. In this way, he follows the 1,500 police and army forces that have been sent to calm down French territory 18,000 kilometers away since serious unrest began a week ago. Like them, Macron will probably land at a military base.

With this surprise visit, the president actually wants to create the assessment that the situation on Tuesday night has calmed down a bit. Reporters and residents paint a different picture. Indigenous youths have so far burned or looted 4,000 shops and businesses in and around Noumea – such as Renault and Carrefour, which are largely symbols of the French presence – during the unrest and protests. They also blocked the feeder road to the airport with new barricades last night. The damages caused during these riots will soon reach one billion euros.

The police have arrested several hundreds of protesters within a week. Six people, including two police officers, were killed in the shooting. Gasoline, food and medicine are becoming scarce in this area. People of French origin in this area lock themselves at home and form armed self-help groups.

The governments of New Zealand and Australia have sent military planes to evacuate their nationals to French bases. Many French also just want to return to their mother country in Europe. But they have been blocked until further notice.

In this state of unrest, it is not yet clear what Macron actually wants to achieve with his proactive approach to “Caillot” (Little Rock), as the main island of the New Caledonian archipelago is called. achieve something The French president’s office on Tuesday spoke only of a “mission” but could not say what it would entail.

Macron will undoubtedly try to mediate between the French and Kanak natives in the region. . However, he himself is not considered neutral: his Renaissance party sparked the explosion of violence last week when it passed the archipelago’s new election law along with right-wing parties. This law favors the “white” French in the region. The decision by the French National Assembly was like a spark in a powder keg.

A French anthropologist said Tuesday that researchers have been sounding the alarm about an explosive atmosphere in New Caledonia for three years. The fact that Macron wants to take matters into his own hands is evidence of a rapidly growing insight: France is in danger of losing its overseas territories, such as French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, La Réunion or Tahiti. /p>

New Caledonia has the largest nickel deposits in the world and is also strategically located in the western Pacific Ocean. For example, CCAT, which is fighting for the independence of New Caledonia, has close ties with Azerbaijan, which is perceived as being influenced by Russia and Iran. Today, the situation of the South Sea archipelago seems to be on the verge of collapse not only socially but also politically. Now the question is how Macron can stop this development in New Caledonia and change the anti-French sentiments.

These unrests with the change of the electoral law that was put on the agenda by the French government. started, which, according to supporters of independence in the region, would reduce the influence of the indigenous population. According to local authorities, six people have been killed and hundreds injured since the unrest began on Monday.

Due to the tense and unstable situation, the French government has declared a state of emergency in this region of the country.

New Caledonia is an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, located 1500 km east of Australia. From 1853 to 1946, New Caledonia was a French colony. The archipelago had previously achieved extensive autonomy through the Noumea Agreement in 1998. For France, this territory is important primarily geopolitically, militarily and because of its large nickel deposits.

Before the Olympic Games in Paris, the Olympic flame was actually supposed to stop in New Caledonia. But now this is not happening due to the escalation of unrest. The arrival of the Olympic flame was scheduled for June 11, and French Sports Minister Amelie Odia-Castro said a “return to calm” in the region should be a priority. Paris lawmakers approved French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years will be allowed to run in New Caledonia’s provincial elections.

Some local leaders fear the move will dilute the Kanak vote. and put them in the minority. Independenceists say that this decision is in line with France’s decades-long policy of gradually changing the population structure of the region and gradually eliminating the role of natives. Kanak natives currently make up 40 percent of the population of the New Caledonian archipelago. >

Hundreds of people have been arrested in New Caledonia since the beginning of the unrest. Unrest on this scale has been unprecedented in the region since 1988.

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