Their demands are directed primarily at the State, after four and a half months of chaos in New Caledonia: representatives of the political groups of the Caledonian Congress are in Paris to demand a massive reconstruction plan and to warn of the vital emergency that is sweeping the territory, a few days before the general policy declaration of Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
After voting in favour of such a plan at the end of August in Noumea, these elected officials overcame their divisions to warn the National Assembly and the Senate of the risks of a total collapse of the economy and society of New Caledonia. They speak almost in unison, from the Union de Caledonienne (UC), a member of the Front Kanak et Socialiste de Liberation Nationale (FLNKS), to the Rassemblement-Les Républicains (LR). In Paris, only the Loyalists of Sonia Backès (who preferred to play it alone at the beginning of September) are missing, but they voted in favour of the plan. And the Union pour la Independence Nationale-Palika, which abstained from doing so but is not opposed to it. This desired reconstruction plan, worth 4.2 billion euros over five years, is intended to be comparable to that implemented in Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélémy in 2017 after Cyclone Irma, an effort equivalent to half of the local GDP.
It was with the president of the National Rally group in the National Assembly, Marine Le Pen, that the talks began on Tuesday 24 September and a meeting was arranged with all the heads of the parliamentary groups by 3 October. For the first time, the President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher, preferred to his tête-à-tête with the Caledonians a meeting attended by the group presidents, the general rapporteur of the budget, the overseas delegation and, on behalf of Senator (LR) Philippe Bas. of the Legal Commission. In addition, the three officials appointed by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, reported at the end of May, behind closed doors, to the “New Caledonia contact group” of the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet.
“We must act!”
“This group of totally opposed elected officials is trying to make us understand that New Caledonia is on the brink of the abyss.Stéphane Lenormand, MP for the group Liberties, Independents, Overseas and Territories, reacts at the end of Wednesday’s meeting. Our first big problem will be the budget and the situation in France is not very good either. But it is one of the issues, with Mayotte, on which we cannot wait. »
“The solution is in Paris, we must act!”puts pressure on Jean-Jacques Urvoas, who will in turn exchange views with the delegation in a few days, accompanied by Manuel Valls and Dominique Bussereau, the three former presidents of the mission, on the institutional future of New Caledonia in the Assembly.
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