Another Pause for Independence? The 2018 New Caledonia Referendum

Abstract

ABSTRACTNew Caledonia is a distinctive French overseas territory with significant interest in independence. It reflects the legacy of a settler colony, where Melanesians were displaced to reservations in the nineteenth century. Pressure for independence comes almost exclusively from the minority Kanak (Melanesian) population. In the 1980s a violent and unsuccessful struggle for independence was defeated and the Matignon Accords, followed by the Noumea Accord, sought to maintain peace and ‘rebalance’ social and economic life over a period of 30 years in favour of the Kanak population and less developed regions of the country. Kanaks acquired greater stakes in the important nickel industry, but became divided between those who achieved economic success and those who perceived the ‘modern’ economy as means of destroying Kanak unity and cultural traditions. Uneven development has not been reduced and urbanisation emphasised inequality and relative deprivation. The Accords culminated in a referendum on independence in November 2018 with a significant majority voting against it. Voting broadly followed ethnic lines with Europeans expressing strong support for remaining French, and fearing instability and loss of French financial support, and Kanaks arguing that independence was a historical and cultural necessity. Two more referendums may follow in the next four years but independence is unlikely to be the outcome.