Paris’s policy stumbles in New Caledonia French-style decolonisation: Agreement secured, trust absent

French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that he will meet with New Caledonia’s elected officials on January 16 to “continue the dialogue” regarding the Pacific territory’s institutional future and to “clarify the Bougival agreement” signed last July. In a letter to local representatives, Macron indicated that the meeting would build on discussions held earlier this year and seek to revive political talks at a time when the agreement’s prospects appear increasingly uncertain.

According to Caliber.Az, France’s international radio station RFI published a report on New Caledonia’s ongoing efforts towards decolonisation.

Fragile timetable and mounting scepticism

The announcement comes as momentum around the Bougival agreement appears to be faltering.

A bill to organise an early consultation of New Caledonians on the text will not, after all, be presented to the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, as had initially been planned. 

At the same time, questions remain about the precise format and objectives of the meeting proposed by the president – and about whether it could reopen hard-fought compromises.

“Everyone understands that they are going to try to get us to renegotiate, to reopen the Bougival agreement to allow the FLNKS to come forward with its demands,” said New Caledonian MP Nicolas Metzdorf. He also regretted that “the fear of possible new violence in New Caledonia … is guiding political action” in Paris.

From the loyalist camp, scepticism is equally pronounced. The Loyalists – a centrist and anti-independence right-wing alliance – have reportedly “made all the concessions they could” and would refuse any attempt to call into question the political balance struck by the agreement.

Searching for consensus

Signed in July between the French government, the independence movement and the anti-independence movement, the draft Bougival agreement sets out plans for the creation of a New Caledonian state within the French Constitution.

However, the text suffered a major setback in August when it was rejected by the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), the main pro-independence coalition.

Despite this rejection, a majority of New Caledonia’s political forces continue to support the agreement in principle.

Several of them argue, however, that amendments are necessary in order to secure the broad consensus they see as essential for the deal to be implemented.

Against this backdrop, the French government has been searching for ways to revive a stalled process in an archipelago still scarred by deadly violence in the spring of 2024. Those unrests left 14 people dead and severely weakened New Caledonia’s economy.

In that context, Overseas Minister Naïma Moutchou floated the idea of organising an “early citizen consultation” in March 2026, ahead of the adoption of the constitutional law required to bring the agreement into force.

Yet even this prospect has drawn reservations, including from some supporters of Bougival. The National Union for Independence (UNI) made its backing conditional on amendments to the text.

Meanwhile, the Caledonian Congress, asked for its opinion on 8 December, confirmed that the bill was deadlocked, with 19 votes in favour, 14 against and 19 abstentions.

The doubts also reached Paris by early December, when the Socialist Party urged Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to “suspend” the early consultation, arguing that it exposed a “lack of real consensus” around the agreement and made adoption of the bill unlikely,” publication says.

Meanwhile, the Toda Peace Institute (Tokyo) presented the results of the Pacific Peoples’ Mission to New Caledonia, which highlighted growing injustice and instability.

“Our generation wants more than words. We want the freedom to decide our own future,” said Punda Neudjen

The French Pacific territory is currently in the fourth decade of decolonising, and has been reeling from several years of often violent political turmoil between those supporting and opposing becoming independent from France.

A new report from the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) reveals that peace is elusive in Kanaky, New Caledonia.

It concludes that France’s role in Kanaky’s long-delayed decolonisation process had deepened mistrust and weakened the foundations of self-rule, contrary to the increased political power and autonomy promised by 1998’s Nouméa Accord.

The report details acute injustices, human rights violations, and socioeconomic concerns that demand immediate reform. As mission member Emele Duituturaga-Jale recalls, “The word we heard was ‘collective punishment’.”

Decolonisation is a process. It requires justice, equity, reparation, and institutions grounded in the consent and participation of Indigenous peoples. Without those foundations, peace will remain precarious, and conflict will persist.

“The world is already in the fourth international decade of decolonisation,” the report concludes. “Self-determination is an inalienable right of colonised peoples. Decolonisation is a universal issue —not a French internal matter.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev