New Caledonia says yes to stay French

– The voters made an independent and informed choice concerning the relations between New Caledonia and France. The majority decided today that New Caledonia should remain French, said Macron in a speech to the nation Sunday after the result was clear.

Macron celebrated the implementation of the referendum and called it peacefully. However, cases of stone collisions against cars and car fire in the capital of the archipelago, Noumea, have been reported.

The referendum was organized on the basis of an agreement concluded in 1998 between French-born residents of New Caledonia and independence activists, which followed the 1988 peace agreement.

– Pride

The referendum was also a test of resistance for the band between France and the Pacific, located in the east of Australia and having about 270 000 inhabitants.

"First and foremost, I must express my great pride in having together crossed this historic milestone," Macron said in his speech Sunday afternoon.

– Second, I would like to express my pride as the head of state of the country chosen by the majority of New Caledonians, namely France. It is a symbol of confidence in the French Republic, its future and its values, said Macron.

The referendum is the result of a long and partially bloody struggle for independence conducted for nearly 30 years.

civil war

At least 80 people were killed during a four-year civil war called "Events," which peaked in 1988. At least 19 people from the indigenous population of Melanese Canak were killed after they taken French policemen hostage.

The violence, which resulted in a peace agreement later in 1988, represented a "huge shock" and a "central moment" for France, according to French historian Isabelle Merle.

"It is the first time that we are attempting a peaceful and thoughtful process of decolonization," she said.

Macron visited the territory in May of this year. He then acknowledged that the people of New Caledonia had for many years felt the "pain of colonization" while honoring those involved in the peace process.

He also gave the New Caledonian government a document according to which the island kingdom would become the property of France in 1853, gesture which would symbolize the last chapter of colonization.

"We are no longer in a period of real estate, but a period of choice," said Macron.

– live in misery

Indigenous peoples have suffered for years from strict segregation policy and descendants of European settlers. Under French colonial rule, canaks were forced to live in isolated reserves, pay specific taxes and make work at very low wages compulsory. They also had to respect curfews and not to enter certain areas reserved for European settlers.

France has also taken control of important natural resources, such as the nickel mines of the island of Thio, and for many canaries, a referendum was held Sunday to recover them.

Although French state-owned mining companies report that most of their income remains in New Caledonia, many members of the local population feel that they consider this wealth very little.

In Thio, the unemployment rate is 30% and 97% of residents have not completed upper secondary education.

(© NTB)