French gendarme officers guard the entrance of the Vallee-du-Tir district, in Noumea on May 14, 2024, amid protests linked to a debate on a constitutional bill aimed at enlarging the electorate for upcoming elections of the overseas French territory of New Caledonia. Photo: AFP / Theo Rouby
The French Ambassador to the Pacific says President Emmanuel Macron is yet to sign a letter from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) requesting authorisation for a high-level Pacific mission to New Caledonia.
Véronique Roger-Lacan told RNZ Pacific with the Paris Olympics kicking off this week, it could be tough propping up security in time.
Pacific Islands Forum leaders have endorsed a high-level mission to New Caledonia.
Cook Islands Prime Minister and PIF chair Mark Brown said the Forum has a "responsibility to take care of our family in a time of need".
He said PIF wants to support the de-escalation of the ongoing violence in New Caledonia through dialogue "to help all parties resolve this situation as peacefully and expeditiously as possible".
In a statement, the Forum Secretarait said leaders recognise that any regional support to New Caledonia will require the agreement of the French government.
"The Pacific Islands Forum has requested the support of the French government and will work closely with officials to confirm the arrangements for the mission," it said.
The idea is to send a Forum Ministerial Committee made up of leaders from Cook Islands, Fiji and Tonga.
However, Roger Lacan said it was a big ask security wise to host three Pacific leaders while New Caledonia is in crisis mode.
On Tuesday, franceinfo reported that Kanak politicians in France, Senator Robert Xowie and freshly-elected MP at the National Assembly (Lower House) Emmanuel Tjibaou, said New Caledonia cannot emerge from civil unrest until discussions resume between the state and political parties.
"We cannot rebuild the country until discussions are held," Xowie was quoted as saying.
"If we do not respond to the problems of the economic crisis, we risk finding ourselves in a humanitarian crisis, where politics will no longer have a place," Tjibaou added.
Tjibaou, the first pro-independence New Caledonian Kanak politician candidate to win a seat since 1986, has also asked the state for a "clear position" on the proposed electoral law reform bill.
The bill was suspended last month by Macron due to the dissolution of the French National Assembly and the subsequent holding of snap elections.