The trip is particularly scrutinized and it really begins this Wednesday evening for the French president. Emmanuel Macron landed in New Caledonia for an express and risky visit intended to renew the thread of dialogue and accelerate the return to order after a week of riots in the archipelago, targeted on Wednesday by a cyberattack “of a unprecedented strength.
He wants “a return to peace, calm and security as quickly as possible,” he explained as he left the plane. “With the return to calm and security, it is also the return to normal care and supplies,” he added. “We will address the questions of economic reconstruction, the most delicate political questions,” continued the president as he got off the plane, referring to the discussions in which he will participate. And to promise: “Decisions will be made and announcements will be made. »
At the end of a journey of more than 17,000 km, the Head of State arrived Thursday morning (local time, around 11:30 p.m. Paris time) in the French territory of the South Pacific, in particular to set up a dialogue mission there. composed of three senior officials. This mission will remain on site “as long as necessary” and “will aim to bring about a local political dialogue with the aim of reaching a global political agreement”, Gabriel Attal had specified before the Senate.
During his visit to the Caillou, which local actors discovered in the press, the President of the Republic must in particular meet with elected officials and economic actors of the archipelago, which the violence and destruction have plunged into a catastrophic situation . Will 12 hours on site be enough, he was asked upon his arrival in Nouméa? ” We will see. I have no limit,” replied Emmanuel Macron.
The night from Tuesday to Wednesday “was calmer”
On the ground, the separatists who hold certain roads have however announced “reinforced mobilization”. “We remain mobilized (…) as long as the State persists in thawing the provincial electoral body”, warned in a press release the CCAT relay (Cellule for the coordination of field actions, an independence collective which has been organizing the protest for six months ) by Koné Pouembo.
In particular, he intends to block the junction of the two main roads giving access to the north of the island on Thursday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Only medical vehicles, firefighters and supplies of essential products will be able to circulate, he warned.
This surprise visit comes at a time when, even among the majority, requests to postpone the draft constitutional law on the electorate, rejected by the separatists, are increasing. In the archipelago, the night from Tuesday to Wednesday “was calmer than the previous one despite two fires in the Nouméa metropolitan area,” reported the High Commission of the Republic.
