In New Caledonia, Kanak People Are Defending Their Autonomy
Nouméa in the French territory of New Caledonia has emerged partially destroyed after two weeks of rioting against constitutional change. The French state claims to be expanding voting rights to all — but Kanak populations see it as a colonial power grab.
A protest organized by the pro-independence coalition CCAT on May 13, 2024. (Theo Rouby / AFP via Getty Images)
In southern New Caledonia, the city of Nouméa and its suburbs were ablaze for almost two weeks in May. Caught up in riots reportedly involving nearly five thousand young Kanak independence activists, some two hundred buildings were burned down, mostly consisting of stores and factories, as well as public facilities, houses, schools, and libraries. In response, armed self-defense groups and militias of Europeans formed to protect their neighborhoods, erecting more than a hundred barricades throughout the city. At least seven people died, including four Kanak.
Repeating the mistakes of a repressive colonial policy on the south Pacific archipelago, the French government prioritized not dialogue but restoring order. It declared a state of emergency in New Caledonia from May 16 to 27, placed most of the leaders of the revolt under house arrest, and sent in the military to quell the rioters. This state of insurrection is part of a long colonial history marked by divisions between the indigenous Kanak population, who demand independence, and the “caldoches,” Europeans from several waves of settlement, who oppose it.
Colonial History
After taking possession of the archipelago in 1848, France asserted its dominance first by way of penal colonies, then through an at first quite unsuccessful attempt at settler colonialism. The colonial authorities believed that colonial wars and epidemics would lead to the inevitable disappearance of the indigenous Kanak people. However, despite a significant demographic decline up to the 1920s, the Kanak people have staged several major uprisings — in 1878, 1917, 1984, and again today.
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