Caldoches, metropolitans and the mother country

Abstract

community as a monolithic, passionately patriotic group and on the surface this would seem to be the case. For the last 12 years the overwhelming majority of Europeans living there have voted for so-called 'loyalist' parties, which advocate the maintenance ofthe Territory within the French Republic and firmly oppose Kanak independence. But this is to obscure two fundamental elements of recent local political history: the ambiguity of the relationship between the Caldoches and Paris and the sudden arrival on the political scene of metropolitans, often more intransigent in their opposition to Kanaks than the Caldoches. The patriotism ofthe Caldoches, that is of those Europeans who have lived in New Caledonia for a number of generations, is in fact relative. Drawing strength from their particular sense of local identity, the Caldoche community has often opposed, sometimes very forcefully, the Parisian Administration. But at no time have these descendants of settlers and convicts been truly capable of forming a white nation ready to free itself from the trusteeship of the mother country, in similar fashion to the British dominions. The essential reason for this has been the existence of a numerically superior indigenous community, which in the 1970s began to tilt towards nationalist demands. In search of safety, the Caldoches realigned themselves with Paris. The tightening of ties with Paris was encouraged by the immigration of metropolitans and Pieds Noirs from Algeria in the 1960s and the 1970s. The newcomers gradually took control ofthe local economy and then abruptly came into the foreground of the political stage during the disturbances of 1984-85. Their influence tended to harden the anti independence stance in New Caledonia whereas the Caldoches were sometimes tempted to negotiate with the Kanaks. The unique Caldoche identity has not, however, disappeared. It might even be of renewed importance if independence in-association with France is undertaken. It could then help to justify, ideologically, a future New Caledonian nationalism. Thus several decades of overtures might finally be brought to fruition. Caldoche identity truly emerged during the two World Wars as the different social strata created during colonisation ? convicts and free settlers ? began to develop a sense of common destiny. To understand the extent to which the