On Wednesday, October 2, Michel Barnier faced his first question session to the government as Prime Minister. The opportunity for him to leave his mark on the New Caledonia issue and to greatly upset, once again, the presidential side.
The macronist deputy of New Caledonia Nicolas Metzdorf, who in the previous legislature was rapporteur of the bill that provoked the independence insurrection against Caillou – a text whose abandonment Michel Barnier announced on Tuesday – questioned the prime minister with rare virulence. Accusing him of having “He humiliated the Caledonians” in its general policy statement. “You had no words for them, he tells her. (…) You humiliated them by abandoning the thaw of the electoral body in New Caledonia. They feel abandoned by the Republic. »
A tone not conducive to discussion. “respectful” that Michel Barnier wishes to establish in the Chamber. For this reason he sent the minister responsible for the overseas territories, François-Noël Buffet, to respond to the loyal deputy. there is no “There is no concrete answer in your response, Mr. Minister”he reprimanded him. “There is no desire to announce the thaw of the electorate and no sum has been announced to Caledonians for the survival of their businesses. Disappointing! “, He said before sitting back down.
“Constructive approach”
Change of tone, at the end of the session, with the archipelago’s independence supporter Emmanuel Tjibaou, a member of the communist group Democratic Republican Left. Son of the historical leader of Kanak nationalism Jean-Marie Tjibaou, “by mandate of the Independence Movement of Caledonian Progressives”, greeted him the announcements made the day before by Michel Barnier, who “Without a doubt take a constructive step” AND “Bear, I hope, the mourning of a method.” The deputy described “a country bruised in the flesh”plunged into a crisis for more than four months “what brings us to our knees.”
And this time, the Prime Minister himself responded to the deputy. Michel Barnier, who announced on Tuesday the postponement of the provincial elections until the end of 2025 and the abandonment of the constitutional bill on the defrosting of the electorate, insisted on the break he wants to establish with the previous government, stressing that he has “took the time to consult all elected officials, in all their diversity” since his arrival in Matignon.
“In agreement with the President of the Republic, we will take the time to rework the issue of the electorate, to find appeasement and the path towards an institutional political solution in New Caledonia”he promised, showing his “respect for all communities, all political forces” of the archipelago.
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