France moves to free New Caledonian leader as prosecutors push back

A French investigating magistrate has ordered the conditional release of Christian Tein, a prominent pro-independence figure from New Caledonia who has been in custody for a year over the deadly 2024 riots. However, Tein’s release will not take immediate effect, as prosecutors have appealed the decision, sources familiar with the case said on June 3.

Tein, 57, an indigenous Kanak leader, has been charged and imprisoned in eastern France since June 2024 in connection with the violent unrest that rocked New Caledonia and left more than a dozen people dead. The riots, which erupted on May 13, 2024, caused widespread destruction and prompted alarm in Paris. The damage has been estimated at over two billion euros ($2.3 billion), and the violence claimed 14 lives, including two gendarmes.

New Caledonia, a French overseas territory located nearly 17,000 kilometers (10,500 miles) from mainland France in the Pacific, remains a strategic part of France’s global presence. Tein heads the Field Action Coordination Unit (CCAT), an organisation French prosecutors suspect of orchestrating the May riots. The unrest was initially sparked by a controversial electoral reform plan but also reflected deeper grievances over France’s governance of the archipelago.

Tein has consistently denied the charges, portraying himself as a political detainee rather than a criminal. He was recently questioned by investigating magistrates in late May, who determined that he could be released under strict judicial supervision. Conditions include a prohibition on returning to New Caledonia and a ban on communicating with other suspects involved in the case, according to a source speaking to French media on condition of anonymity.

The magistrates reportedly concluded that, based on current evidence, there is no indication that Tein was preparing for an armed insurrection against the French state. Nevertheless, the prosecution contested this conclusion, arguing that Tein played a key role in instigating a violent campaign against French authority and should remain in detention.

The Paris Court of Appeal is expected to rule within the next two days on whether the release order will be upheld or suspended.

Tein’s legal team welcomed what they described as a “new reading of the case” by the investigating judges and criticised the prosecutor’s opposition as being “totally out of touch with the evidence in the proceedings.”

In addition to Tein, three other Kanak separatists — Dimitri Qenegei, Guillaume Vama, and Erwan Waetheane — who are also being held in France, have reportedly been granted identical release conditions by the magistrates. These decisions, too, are being contested by the prosecution.

The riots in New Caledonia last year were the most violent the territory has seen in decades and have brought renewed attention to its long-running independence struggle. Although three referendums on independence, held in 2018, 2020, and 2021, resulted in a vote to remain part of France, the final one was boycotted by the Kanak population, fueling accusations of illegitimacy and heightening tensions in the region.

By Tamilla Hasanova