Deconstruction of burnt down and damaged buildings in Nouméa. Photo: RRB
The French government is injecting a new financial aid package into New Caledonia's economy, for a total of some €130 million.
The main focus of the package is said to come as urgent assistance to prevent essential services such as the main electricity operator ENERCAL and social services from imminent collapse, the French government's ministry of finance said in a release on Wednesday.
The new financial buoy would allow those essential services to continue operating, at least for the month of September.
The aid comes almost three months after destructive riots erupted in New Caledonia, causing the destruction and looting of about eight hundred businesses, an estimated twenty thousand subsequent job losses, eleven dead and a total economic cost of some €2.2 billion.
Since initial French emergency assistance was made available, the French government says the new aid package brings the total cumulated help to €400m so far (not taking into account specific assistance to New Caledonia's embattled nickel industry).
Late July, €100m were made available to New Caledonia's government, mainly to assist in addressing the persons who had lost their jobs after the destructive riots took place.
However, as opposed to the earlier assistance, the new package will be tied to reforms to be engaged in the most urgent sectors of New Caledonia, including for the ENERCAL power supply company, as well as the social security and retirement scheme, the French government stressed.
Photo: AFP/Delphine Mayeur
Local Congress asks for €4.2b over next five years
Late August, New Caledonia's congress unanimously backed a resolution asking the French government for 500 billion French Pacific Francs (CFP, about €4.2b) to be distributed over the next five years to "reconstruct" New Caledonia.
Last week, New Caledonia's government also initiated a process of public consultation with the aim of drafting what is referred to as a "salvation, refoundation and reconstruction" plan.
This would include not only the economic situation, but also a longer-term model for New Caledonia's social and even political refoundation.
The French finance ministry said New Caledonia's economic and financial imbalances are also the result of years, sometimes decades of accumulated structural deficits, "prior to the riots".
During a one-hour meeting on Tuesday with French President Macron, New Caledonia's affluent Southern Province President Sonia Backès told local media New Caledonia's economic situation was top of the agenda.
"We have a few days left before New Caledonia's whole economic system simply collapses", she said, mentioning a looming domino-effect.
A burnt climbing wall is pictured in the Magenta district of Noumea on 15 May, 2024. Photo: AFP / Theo Rouby
'It's very difficult'
New Caledonia journalist Coralie Cochin told RNZ Pacific the latest tranche is enough to keep the French territory afloat for a while but not enough to rebuild it.
"It's a lot of money but it will be only enough to help us for the weeks going on."
She said money is needed to create jobs, not only to repair the territory.
Cochin said about a quarter of the working population are unemployed.
"If people don't have money, don't have income, for the moment it's ok because they can have the unemployment benefit but in some months, they won't have this help anymore.
"How are they going to pay their bills? How are they going to pay for food? It's very difficult…they really feel they don't know what is going to happen at the end of the year."
Cochin said she did not know exactly where the money was going but money was needed to restart public services, like buses which had not been operating in Nouméa for months.
Many businesses - especially in the industrial area had been destroyed during the unrest in May.
Veylma Falaéo is the new President of New Caledonia’s Congress, the first woman to hold this position. Photo: RRB
New President a 'symbol of hope'
Meanwhile, New Caledonia's congress now has a new President.
Veylma Falaeo, 42, from the small Eveil Océanien (Oceania Awakening) party which formed in 2019, has taken over from the former pro-independence president Roch Wamytan.
The result come as a surprise to everyone including herself who told local media she only had a few minutes to write a maiden speech to be delivered minutes after the election.
Cochin said New Caledonia's public viewed the result as a "symbol of hope in this very difficult period" including politically, with both pro-France and pro-independence sides struggling to work together.
"New Caledonian people hope that with Veylma Falaeo, which is not on the left side or right side, she's not independentist or non-independentist, she's really moderate in the middle, so maybe she's going to be able to bring all the politicians around the table.
"It's going to be very difficult, very tough because at the moment the two sides don't really want to talk," she added.