In New Caledonia, Manuel Valls calls for seizing the "historic opportunity" of the Bougival Agreement

"The Bougival Agreement is a historic opportunity, seize it," declared the Minister for Overseas Territories, Manuel Valls, on Wednesday, August 20, before the Customary Senate of New Caledonia, saying he was "convinced that there is no credible alternative" to this text on the future of the territory, signed in July but weakened by the rejection of the separatists of the Socialist Kanak National Liberation Front (FLNKS).

The president of the Customary Senate, Eloi Gowé, considered that it was "urgent, inspired by these half-failures [of Bougival and Deva, in May], to propose a new framework for discussion and a new approach" .

The Overseas Minister then met behind closed doors with a delegation from the FLNKS, New Caledonia's main independence movement, which rejected the Bougival Agreement last week. The discussion lasted two and a half hours. Upon leaving, the delegation, composed of members of the Front's political bureau, declined to make a statement. It must first report to the movement's president, Christian Tein, who is responsible for "supervising discussions with the state," but is under judicial supervision and banned from entering New Caledonia.

The Bougival Agreement (Yvelines), concluded on July 12 after several days of negotiations between the State, the independence movement and the loyalists, provides for the creation of a State of New Caledonia with its own nationality and which could obtain several sovereign powers, while remaining enshrined in the French Constitution.

Validated by the entire non-independence camp, by the Oceanian Awakening – a pivotal "neither nor" party – as well as by the pro-independence Palika and the Progressive Union in Melanesia (UPM), who distanced themselves from the FLNKS a year ago, it was rejected by the latter, which remains the main pro-independence movement in the territory.

Before leaving Paris, Manuel Valls warned that "without an agreement, without political stability, there will be no buyers for nickel, the shortage of healthcare workers will persist and inequalities will continue to widen" in the French Pacific territory.

In response, the FLNKS denounced in a press release the "lessons in responsibility" given by the State and considered that the Minister of Overseas Territories was engaging in a "power struggle (...) while the country has been on life support for several years and inequalities have only increased for decades" .

The minister's visit comes at a time when the May 2024 riots, triggered by a proposed electoral reform, left 14 dead and cost New Caledonia more than two billion euros in damage and at least 10% of its GDP.