Leader of the non-independence right in New Caledonia, Sonia Backès announces to
Figaro
her rallying to the head of state for the April presidential election.
"If New Caledonia has remained French, it is thanks to the commitment of Emmanuel Macron and Sébastien Lecornu"
, his overseas minister, believes the president (formerly Les Républicains, LR) of the southern province of the archipelago.
To discover
Presidential 2022: where are the candidates in the polls?
During the third and last referendum organized as part of the Nouméa Accord, on December 12, the Pacific region voted against independence (95.5% against) against a background of historic abstention (56.1 %), the separatists having called not to participate.
Read alsoNew Caledonia chooses France
LE FIGARO. - Victorious at the end of the last referendum in New Caledonia, the non-separatists split three months before the presidential election, between rallies to Valérie Pécresse, Marine Le Pen, Éric Zemmour or Emmanuel Macron. Who will you support?
SONIA BACKES.
- I met the main candidates.
Emmanuel Macron is the only one to have real knowledge of the Caledonian file.
He had the courage, under his five-year term, to go to the end of the three referendums, without ever giving in to the blackmail of the separatists
(who wanted to postpone the last election to the post-presidential election against a background of health crisis, Editor's note)
.
He has a vision for our territory with his Indo-Pacific axis project, which places New Caledonia at the center of an ambitious national strategy.
He has my full support for the presidential election.
Emmanuel Macron had the courage, under his five-year term, to go to the end of the three referendums, without ever giving in to the blackmail of the separatists.
Sonia Backès
However, you have long contested his remarks in 2017 on colonization, a
“
crime against humanity
”
in Algeria.
While most of the LR supported him in the second round against Marine Le Pen, you refused to give instructions to vote.
Why this turnaround?
The declaration on the
"crime against humanity"
had been seen as a risk in my political family, while the Noumea agreement recognizes both the
"shadows"
and the
"lights"
of colonization in New Caledonia. We must understand that our fight for France takes us to the guts. We Caledonians don't have any. We were afraid of losing everything. But the Head of State has learned a lot from our territory. He spent time there and took risks. If New Caledonia has remained French, it is thanks to the commitment of Emmanuel Macron and Sébastien Lecornu
(the Minister of Overseas France)
. They made strong choices and kept the promises thatthey did to the Caledonians.
Read also Referendum in New Caledonia: what does the abstention map reveal?
The officials of your former party, LR, have however accused Emmanuel Macron of
abandoning New Caledonia
, deploring that he does not speak in favor of its retention in France in the run-up to the final referendum ...
No one can say that Emmanuel Macron would have left us aside.
For five years, the state has not given in to pressure from the separatists.
He holds a speech of truth on the institutional future of New Caledonia and on the consequences of the independence project.
Above all, Caledonians who wish to remain French are no longer abandoned to their fate as before.
The best example of this support has been the expression of national solidarity during the health crisis.
The financial, material and human support of the State was exceptional.
Read also New Caledonia: the discussions of the "day after" the referendum, challenge for the executive and stake for 2022
For lack of courage or lack of interest in our future, some leaders, including on the right, have long abandoned New Caledonia.
Jacques Chirac froze the electorate for the referendum, favoring the separatists, by imposing in 2007 a constitutional revision voted by Valérie Pécresse, then deputy.
Emmanuel Macron, he gave us proof of love.
I am on the right and I remain on the right, but I consider him to be the best candidate for Caledonia and for France.
A post-referendum transition period is open until June 2023, to reflect on a new status for New Caledonia. What should be the priorities?
We have to get back to the basics.
Tomorrow, Caledonians by heart or by birth must have the same rights as those who have lived in the archipelago for longer.
We must therefore come back to the freezing of the electorate.
In order to diversify our economy, we must promote our assets beyond nickel: the development of the Indo-Pacific axis offers us growth prospects.
Read also New Caledonia: the constitutional future under debate in the Assembly
We must also review our local institutions to gain in decision-making efficiency.
For this, we must give greater autonomy to the provinces to finally deal with the real issues of the daily life of Caledonians.
This new organization should promote our ability to live together.
It is a long-term objective and it is the best envoy of peace and growth for New Caledonia.
At the end of the transition period (...), we will ask that the State make a request to the United Nations to remove New Caledonia from the list of non-self-governing territories.
Sonia Backès
Should the State ask the United Nations to remove the archipelago from its list of non-self-governing territories, that is to say to be decolonized?
The future status of territory will be negotiated with the separatists.
In this regard, it is also up to them to tell us what their vision is for the future, including on the subject of the right to self-determination.
But we will no longer agree to block the horizon of young Caledonians as has been done for 30 years.
At the end of the transition period, even if the right to self-determination persists, we will ask the State to apply to the United Nations to remove New Caledonia from the list of non-self-governing territories.