an “anticipated citizen consultation” on the Bougival agreement will be held before the constitutional revision

Despite expectations, the Foreign Minister has not announced any new measures for the island nation whose economy has been drained since deadly unrest in 2024.

“We will first give the citizens a voice.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Naïma Moutchou announced on Friday 14 November that a “awaited citizen consultation” will be held in New Caledonia ahead of planned constitutional revisions to ratify the Bougival agreement, against a backdrop of infighting among separatist groups.

The consultation was initially planned after the adoption of the constitutional law, but will most likely take place in February, according to the timetable set when the text was signed in July. “This will give power to what is being said”confirmed the minister on the Nouvelle-Calédonie la 1ere channel, on the final day of his trip to the South Pacific islands, his first since his appointment in October. Since its signing, the Bougival agreement has suffered several setbacks, including rejection by the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), the main independence movement.

The minister’s announcement was welcomed by non-independence activists. “The FLNKS, at this stage, does not wish to reach an agreement with the State and political forces of Caledonia (…) Therefore, the other powers chose to hand over the Bougival agreement to Caledonia before the Parliament had to adopt a constitutional law”for its part declared the Loyalist leader, Sonia Backès.

According to Loyalists, FLNKS is the same way “weakened by Palika’s departure”which announced its definitive departure from the independence alliance on Friday. Palika, a member of the FLNKS since 1984 and one of its two main parties in the Caledonian Union (UC), endorsed the Bougival agreement. He has also been at odds with the FLNKS since the deadly 2024 riots, criticizing it in particular over its integration of the Field Action Coordination Cell (CCAT), believing they played a role in last year’s violence.

FLNKS, which met the minister twice without participating in the plenary meeting, reiterated that “the so-called ‘Bougival’ project cannot be a working basis, because it goes against the process of decolonization”. “I wouldn’t do it without FLNKS, as long as FLNKS won’t work without other FLNKS”answered Naïma Moutchou. But no new measures have been announced, while Naïma Moutchou is eagerly awaited in a region whose economy has been drained for a year and a half.