The separatists of the FLNKS indicated on Wednesday May 5 that they would not go to Paris at the end of May at the invitation of Prime Minister Jean Castex to discuss the political future of New Caledonia, calling into question
"the
lack of
preparation"
of this mission.
"There is no urgency to go to Paris at the end of the month because the subjects of sovereignty which must be discussed with the French State deserve preparatory sessions"
, indicated to the press the leaders of the independence coalition, which met in convention on Saturday.
"The format and the agenda not clear"
were invoked by the FLNKS (Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak Socialiste), which asked the state
"To assign a senior official empowered to prepare"
the trip.
Read also: New Caledonia: the keys to understanding the archipelago mortgage
Jean Castex had invited a panel of loyalist and separatist leaders to Paris from May 25 to June 3
“to talk about the future of New Caledonia”
. As part of the decolonization process of the Nouméa Accord (1998), a third and last referendum on independence will take place before October 2022. A sequence with Emmanuel Macron was announced. The consequences of the "yes" and "no" to independence as well as the date of the poll, which raises fears of a return of community tensions, were the main subjects on the agenda. The first two referendum polls of November 4, 2018 and October 4, 2020 were won by 56.7% and then 53.3% by supporters of maintaining the island in France.
Read also: Referendum on the independence of New Caledonia: senators propose alternatives
The FLNKS also indicated that it would not participate in the restitution Thursday of the results of the citizen consultation, launched by the State to allow civil society to take part in the debate on the institutional future of New Caledonia. These decisions come as the separatists won in mid-February the majority of the members of the collegiate government, six out of eleven, after having brought down the previous executive led by the loyalist Thierry Santa. Due to a lack of agreement between the two streams of the FLNKS on the name of the president, the elected government has not yet taken office. After intense negotiations, the separatists
"committed
(Wednesday)
to install"
a president,during the next government convocation on May 12.