France’s new prime minister postpones the election in the restive Pacific region of New Caledonia

NICE, France – France’s new Prime Minister Michel Barnier announced Tuesday that a provincial election scheduled for December in the restive French Pacific region of New Caledonia has been postponed for a year.

During his inaugural speech to parliament, Barnier also said that a controversial bill by President Emmanuel Macron to amend the constitution to change voter lists in the territory would not be referred to a joint session of parliament for ratification. The territory’s indigenous Kanak people fear changes to the electoral register would favor newcomers to the Pacific archipelago.

In New Caledonia, tensions have long simmered between white settler communities loyal to Paris and the Kanaks, who support independence.

The passage of the voters’ list bill in May by both chambers of the French parliament led to mass demonstrations by pro-independence groups that turned violent, prompting Macron to declare a state of emergency and send thousands of police and army reinforcements to the far-flung area.

Thirteen people, mostly Kanaks, and two police officers have been killed and nearly 3,000 people arrested since New Caledonia police launched an investigation just days after the unrest began in May.

Barnier said the provincial election would be postponed from its scheduled date of Dec. 15 to the end of 2025.

New Caledonia is going through an “extraordinarily serious crisis,” Barnier said, adding that he would address the problems early next year when he plans to convene a government committee on the French overseas territories. Their priority will be to address and resolve “the high cost of living affecting our countrymen” in overseas territories stretching from the Indian Ocean and the Pacific to the Caribbean.

Last month, violent protests erupted on the French island of Martinique over the high cost of living, with gunfire wounding at least six police officers and one civilian. France has sent a squad of special anti-riot police to quell unrest in its Caribbean territory, where protesters have gathered despite the government banning demonstrations in parts of the island.

“I am aware of the suffering and fear that the people of New Caledonia feel and I want to reiterate that the state and my government will be at their side,” Barnier said on Tuesday as he presented the guidelines to lawmakers in the National Assembly presented to his government. France’s influential lower house of parliament.

New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III, Napoleon’s nephew and heir. After World War II it became an overseas territory, and in 1957 all Kanaks received French citizenship. The Kanaks had long sought to free themselves from France after suffering from harsh segregation policies and widespread discrimination.