French Home Affairs and Overseas minister Gérald Darmanin in Nouméa in November 2023. Photo: Supplied/NC la 1ère
French Home Affairs and Overseas minister Gérald Darmanin is planning to travel once again to New Caledonia "mid-February", but this would depend on whether protracted talks between local politicians on the territory's political future are showing signs of progress.
Darmanin already travelled half a dozen times to New Caledonia last year, with the same goal each time: bring all components of the political spectrum around the same table in order to find a consensual arrangement for New Caledonia's future status that would eventually replace the previous agreement, the Nouméa Accord (signed in 1998).
So far, talks have taken place in different formats, even between pro-France and pro-independence parties, but one of the main components of the pro-independence umbrella FLNKS, the Union Calédonienne -UC- is still reluctant to take part in the inclusive format of the talks.
"Upon request from (French President) Emmanuel Macron, I will travel once again to New Caledonia mid-February (...) if an agreement project reaches a consensus", he X-twitted on Tuesday this week.
Two days of local talks
Darmanin was reacting to a new two-day round of talks between pro-French and pro-independence parties held earlier this week in the small coastal town of Bourail (West of the main island of Grande Terre).
The Bourail meeting this week was described locally as the most inclusive meeting attended so far by local politicians.
Even though UC President Daniel Goa was not taking part, some UC members were there in attendance, public broadcaster NC la 1ère reports.
The French President has already announced his plan to modify the French Constitution with regards to New Caledonia and, in order to give more time for local politicians to find a consensus on its political future, local provincial elections, scheduled to take place in May, have now been postponed until mid-December this year "at the latest".
The constitutional amendment, however, would only come in force if no "consensual" agreement came out of local talks before July 1, 2024.
After a change of prime minister and a government reshuffle in France early January 2024, Darmanin retained his Home Affairs portfolio, as well as Overseas.
Whoever is appointed junior minister for Overseas (at a date yet to be disclosed) does not seem to have a bearing on New Caledonia, as Darmanin apparently intends to keep taking care of this case personally.
MPs to tour French Overseas islands
Meanwhile, a group of MPs in the French National Assembly is preparing for a fact-finding world tour to French Overseas territories.
Their goal was to assess those French overseas territories advancement and situation in terms of institutional status and possible increased autonomy vis-à-vis France.
The mission will include French Overseas islands in the Indian Ocean (La Réunion - 7 February , Mayotte -7 to 9 February) and the Pacific Ocean (Wallis - 9 to 11 March-, New Caledonia - 12 to 15 March-, French Polynesia -16 to 21 March).
The setting up of this mission was said to be motivated by the forthcoming Constitutional amendment concerning New Caledonia, which apparently prompted other entities within the French overseas group to ask for more advancements for their respective status as well.
Along with MPs from mainland France, one member of this delegation is French Polynesia's Tematai Le Gayic, the youngest elected member of the France's lower house of Parliament, the National Assembly.