Loyalists of New Caledonia — Macron’s last hope French colonialism 2.0

"Liberty, equality, fraternity"—a slogan historically associated with France—should, in theory, serve as a guiding light for Paris. Yet in practice, things turn out quite the opposite.

In recent weeks, the world has watched in disbelief as Emmanuel Macron struggled to nominate a new prime minister. Refusing to accept his resounding defeat in the parliamentary elections, he dragged out the decision for as long as possible. So where, one might ask, is the liberty? What happened to equality, not to mention fraternity? But let’s put that aside for now, as this primarily concerns the French themselves. They’ll have to resolve their own issues.

The reality is that "liberty, equality, fraternity" has become nothing more than a moth-eaten slogan when it comes to the rights of the Kanaks—the indigenous people of Melanesia living in New Caledonia. Most French citizens view the region as virtually their own property, calling it an "overseas territory" and thereby openly adhering to neocolonialist ideas regarding the area and its indigenous population.

In May 2024, the indigenous population of New Caledonia rose up against an anti-Kanak bill proposed by French parliamentarians. The bill sought to grant voting rights in local legislative elections to French residents who had lived in New Caledonia for just 10 years. Wasn’t this an outright mockery of the Jacobin slogan? But it quickly stopped being a laughing matter for the French authorities as they witnessed the birth of a new wave of the national liberation movement in New Caledonia. Instead of listening to the legitimate demands of the Kanaks, official Paris declared martial law. This made it undeniably clear that Macron and his team care little for human rights or even the most basic elements of democracy. The government ignored the Kanaks' demands for full control over their islands and resources, partly due to the region's significant nickel deposits.

Unlike Paris, Baku does not remain indifferent to human rights violations, regardless of where they occur geographically. This approach led to the holding of a conference in April, 2024 at the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijan's parliament) on the topic "New Caledonia: History, Contemporary Challenges, and Expected Future," which was attended by members of the New Caledonian delegation. Baku's heartfelt concern for the issues facing the Kanaks deeply moved the delegation members, on whose behalf the head of the Committee of the Congress of New Caledonia on Infrastructure, Territorial Planning, Sustainable Development, Energy, Transport, and Communications, Omayra Naisseline, expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan for "standing alongside the Kanak people in their struggle for independence."

As a result of the rise of the national liberation movement in New Caledonia, in July of this year, a candidate from the Kanaks, Emmanuel Tjibaou, who advocates for independence, was elected to the French Parliament. And just a few days ago, the Congress of New Caledonia adopted a resolution demanding that the French authorities allocate 4.2 billion euros for the restoration of the island territory, which became necessary after the events of May.

Apparently, this proposal from Kanak parliamentarians has triggered sharp opposition from the French authorities, who could find nothing better than to attempt to provoke another wave of discontent among New Caledonian residents. However, this time, Paris has chosen a completely different approach than before. They initiated the drafting of a resolution by biased Congress members to create a commission to investigate "relations between certain local MPs and Azerbaijan."

Unbelievable! Have the so-called "freedom-loving" French authorities forgotten that they previously tried to accuse Azerbaijan of "interfering in New Caledonia’s affairs" through "supporting the independence movement"? They received a clear response from the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which firmly rejected these "insulting expressions" and called on them to "stop the smear campaign" against the country. Perhaps it’s worth reminding Paris of a key paragraph from that statement, in which Azerbaijan's foreign ministry pointed out that "instead of accusing Azerbaijan of allegedly supporting pro-independence protests in New Caledonia,” French authorities “should focus on his country’s failed policy towards the overseas territories that led to such protests."

Paris will likely once again turn a deaf ear to this call, choosing instead to take steps against the Kanak independence movement. However, the voice of those advocating for freedom can no longer be silenced. In this context, Azerbaijan is fully committed to continuing its fight for the eradication of neocolonialism worldwide. A testament to this was the international conference held in Baku on September 3, organized by the Baku Initiative Group (BIG), titled "Illegal French Occupation of Mayotte Island of Union of Comoros."

In the final statement, the conference participants expressed their sincere gratitude to the people of Azerbaijan for their "warm and friendly hospitality," condemned "France's colonialism on the island of Mayotte," and demanded that the French government respect the sovereignty of the Union of the Comoros, with the "immediate liberation of Mayotte, which is an integral part of the Comoros."

Thus, Paris has received yet another signal from Baku: in the 21st century, colonialism must come to an end—once and for all! Now, it remains to be seen how faithful the Élysée Palace and the French parliamentarians truly are to the slogan "liberty, equality, fraternity."