Buffet appointment welcomed in French Pacific territories

The appointment of François-Noël Buffet as the new minister for French Overseas has been mostly welcomed in the French Pacific, where he will have to urgently deal with the volatile situation in New Caledonia.

Buffet was appointed at the weekend by Prime Minister Michel Barnier.

One of the most urgent matters he now has to deal with is the fluid situation in New Caledonia, where riots and unrest broke out on 13 May, in relation to the endorsement by parliament of a constitutional bill that intends to change the voters' eligibility at local election, a change regarded by indigenous Kanaks as a way of diluting the indigenous votes.

Buffet, 61, who travelled several times in New Caledonia (2022 and 2024) as chair of the Senate's law committee, also led a fact-finding mission there, where he has spoken with dozens of political leaders from both pro-independence and pro-France parties.

'Restoring dialogue as a priority'

The resulting report on New Caledonia's political future recommended, amongst other things, that steps should be urgently taken to resume dialogue among antagonist parties and that France, in the process, should come back to a more impartial role as part of the implementation of the 1998 autonomy-loaded Nouméa Accord.

One of Buffet's priorities would be to restore dialogue on the French Pacific archipelago's political future.

If talks resume, the very controversial Constitutional Bill on the electoral roll could remain "suspended" until leaders reach an inclusive, comprehensive and wider agreement.

He comes at a time when dialogue between local political leaders has come to a standstill over the past two years.

In New Caledonia, several leaders on the pro-independence side have earlier this week expressed relative satisfaction at the appointment of someone they mostly regard as a "man of dialogue".

"We feel this is a man of dialogue. We would like him to return to discussion methods and the landmarks initiated by the Nouméa Accord. Of course, we would have liked to have a left-wing man. But after all, progress was made under the Nouméa Accord in the past, no matter what, right-wing or left-wing governments", Kanak Liberation Party PALIKA leader Charles Washetine told local media.

The usually more radical Union Calédonienne (UC) President, Daniel Goa, also welcomed the fact that the Minister for Overseas now operates again directly under the French Prime minister.

"The good thing is that at last, we now have a French government. For the rest, we'll see and we'll judge on his actions", he said.

Another UC figure, former Congress President Roch Wamytan, told NC la 1ère that "at least, we know him and he knows us. He has this capacity for dialogue. So we hope he will achieve some progress".

"I believe he is a seasoned and knowledgeable person on New Caledonia's issues, because he has travelled here and met people here, and the conclusions of his reports seem to contain useful recommendations on how to re-start discussions here, taking into account the great crisis we find ourselves into", New Caledonia's President Louis Mapou said.

Pro-France Rassemblement- LR President Virginie Ruffenach lauded Buffet's "great listening and analysis capacities".

"He knows New Caledonia very well, he's a friend too, so we're all satisfied that his skills can become available to French Overseas in general and New Caledonia in particular", she said.

Ruffenach and Buffet both belong to LR-Les Républicains party.

Pro-France leader Nicolas Metzdorf (who is also an MP in the French National Assembly under the Renaissance party), also said he was happy with Buffet's appointment and more generally on the way the position of French Overseas minister is now better considered inside the French cabinet, with a direct link to the PM's office and a special attention from French President Emmanuel Macron.

Southern province President Sonia Backès also hailed the appointment, saying she had met Buffet during a recent visit to Paris.

It is widely expected that the subject of New Caledonia will be specifically mentioned when PM Barnier makes his speech on general policy before Parliament on 1st of October.

French Polynesia also welcome the appointment

Leaders in French Polynesia, from both pro-independence and pro-France, have also welcomed the appointment.

"He's a good choice, because he is someone who knows French Overseas territories", pro-independence President Moetai Brotherson commented.

Buffet recently travelled to French Polynesia as part of a world-wide tour of French Overseas territories aimed at gauging expectations on their respective wishes for further progress on their respective autonomy statuses.

Teva Rohfritsch, one of the members of the French Senate, said he was looking forward to working with Buffet.

"We have quite a few subjects to put on the table, like the cost of living and a growing concern regarding a planned reduction of Buffet's ministry's budget for the next financial year", Moerani Frebault, newly-elected MP at the French National Assembly, said.

French Polynesia's leaders also welcomed the restored status of the French Overseas Ministry, which had been downgraded over the past four years to a sub-ministry directly under French Home Affairs with a "delegate", not a fully-fledged minister.