Three Tourange residents have been stuck in their hotel in New Caledonia for eight days, without the possibility of finding a plane for their return to mainland France. Frédéric Bouvart, commercial director of the company Invacare in Fondettes, his wife Claude Bouvart, doctor in Ballan-Miré and his colleague and partner, Dr Philippe Nattier, are staying at the Hôtel Méridien south of Nouméa. They were supposed to take a plane on Wednesday May 15 for Paris. But the outbreak of riots on May 13, and the resulting chaos, prevented them from having a return flight.
“The day before our return, on the 14th, we were informed that the airport was closed and all commercial flights were suspended for two days,” Frédéric Bouvart tells us by telephone, present since April 27 in Nouméa where he was on a business trip. His wife and his friend joined him for a few days of vacation. “But since Wednesday May 15, we have been told every day that the airport will remain closed. We’ve changed our plane tickets with Air France five times now, but flights between mainland France and New Caledonia are managed by the local company Aircalin, which cancels all departing flights. »
Foreign tourists were able to leave the island
According to Tourangeau, “If the airport remains closed, it is because there is pressure, even threats, being exerted on the employees who work there. Only one road leads to the airport, on which there have been up to forty roadblocks. The police remove them during the day, but at night they are put back together. »
The three Tourangeaux have been stuck in their hotel, Le Méridien, at the southern tip of Nouméa for more than eight days (foreground).
© Aerial photo provided by F. Bouvart
Their hotel taken over by the CRS and the military
Since Tuesday, mainland tourists wishing to leave the archipelago must complete a form issued by the New Caledonian High Commission. But the airport still remains inaccessible. Claude, Frédéric and Philippe have hardly moved from their hotel for eight days. “Where we are located, we are safe, we are not afraid. For several days, the hotel has been filled with riot police and police. It’s reassuring but it puts a special atmosphere in the hotel. »
The trio waits and watches the black smoke rising above the city of Nouméa. He wasn’t caught up in the riots. “We didn’t see the riots coming; the previous Sunday, May 12, the demonstration of the separatists was good-natured. But the local population said it was going to blow…”
Frédéric Bouvart contacted the mayor of Ballan-Miré, Thierry Chailloux and the MP for his constituency, Fabienne Colboc, to keep them informed of their fate.
The three Tourangeaux deplore the lack of information and the absence of support
17,000 km from home, Frédéric, Claude and Philippe see their hotel and restaurant bills increasing day by day. “There is no support, no contact with the territorial authorities, no information, all administrations are closed. We are truly shipwrecked. My wife and her colleague were to reopen their office on the Tuesday after Pentecost. indicates the Ballanais.
Frédéric Bouvart shares his “Feeling of being abandoned by the State, left to our fate. There are only around ten tourists left in the hotel, all French, from mainland France. The other tourists, Australians, New Zealanders and Japanese, were repatriated to their country with the help of the French army. » He will not have seen Emmanuel Macron, who arrived on the island Thursday morning for a quick visit. “However, I would have liked him to come and meet the French tourists shipwrecked in hotels. »
