Page 11 - IB November 2024

Cover

Burnt-out shops at the Kenu-In Commercial Centre

REBUILDING NEW CALEDONIA’S

SHATTERED ECONOMY

By Nic Maclellan in Noumea between the independence movement and French security
forces. A key trigger for the crisis was a vote in the French
We’re sitting on mats in the garden around a public housing National Assembly on 13 May, as President Emmanuel Macron
tower in Noumea, as a small group of women and elders listen pushed forward a constitutional amendment that would
to updates from independence activists about the ongoing add an estimated 25,800 people to voting rolls for New
crisis in New Caledonia. Caledonia’s provincial assemblies and national Congress. This
Local residents —mostly indigenous Kanak—are proudly legislation has now been abandoned, but only after months of
flying the flag of Kanaky rather than the French tricolour. The riot and conflict.
apartment buildings are covered in graffiti, denouncing the The economic consequences for New Caledonians have been
French police and conservative anti-independence politicians. dire, especially in the capital Noumea and surrounding towns
But our discussion soon moves from politics to the economy. like Mont Dore, Paita and Dumbea: businesses and shopping
People are doing it tough, losing work and access to public centres burnt or looted; public transport disrupted; and
services since conflict erupted across New Caledonia in mid- crucial infrastructure damaged, including schools, medical
May. centres and town halls.
“We’re worried about next year,” one woman told me. After months of violence, there’s a fragile peace
“Many of us have lost our jobs or are only working two days a today. A series of French government ministers and
week. How do we feed the kids? They’ve even put up the bus parliamentarians have visited from Paris, seeking to restart
fares – 500 CFP [Pacific francs or US$4.40] for every trip! The political negotiations between supporters and opponents
bills are piling up, but what happens if we can’t pay the rent of independence. But for ordinary people, economic
or electricity? Will they try to evict us next year?” reconstruction remains a major priority, as they survey the
For six months, New Caledonia has lived through clashes wreckage created by President Macron’s failed policy.

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