The first steps of the minister responsible for the overseas territories, François-Noël Buffet, on Caledonian soil for a four-day marathon visit, on Wednesday, October 16, made it possible to measure the expectations of the New Caledonian elected officials towards the State. . Since the beginning of the crisis, which began on May 13, numerous figures have been presented, in terms of unemployment, material damage and even the departure of residents. If they reflect a critical economic and social situation, they have also become political objects with multiple issues, starting with the size of the aid requested from the State.
“Depending on who is speaking, assessments sometimes range from single to double. At some point, you have to know what you’re talking about to be able to objectify your speech, particularly on employment issues.”underlines Véronique Ujicas, head of the economic department of the Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (ISEE) of New Caledonia, which published a table of important indicators on October 7.
The issue of unemployment directly concerns the State, since it is the one that finances an important part of the compensation. Loyalist leader Sonia Backès has repeatedly mentioned an unemployment rate reaching 50%. The reality measured by the ISEE shows, however, 6,000 jobs destroyed, of the approximately 67,000 that the private sector had before the crisis. It is worth adding partial unemployment, which affects 29% of salaried workers, which led Philippe Gomès, leader of the Calédonie joint party (non-independence moderate right), to affirm that “24,500 employees are left without jobs”.
“witch hunt”
“We need to take a step back from the numbers”admits a Caledonian Medef member who prefers to remain anonymous. “ Of course there is instrumentalization, it is the game of those who want more money.”. This businessman, affected like many others, wants to be less catastrophic and puts forward an assessment of the fall in global consumption, of the order of 15%. According to him, in addition, the latest figures would estimate the amount of destruction at 1.5 billion euros, instead of the 2 billion currently estimated.
In this context, the second union in the country, the Union of Kanak and Exploited Workers (USTKE), with pro-independence sensitivity, warns of the discrimination suffered by some of its members in several companies. And denounces, since the crisis, “a witch hunt under cover of a catastrophic situation”.
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