US EditionValls Heads to New Caledonia in Wake of Collapse of Independence Deal
Manuel Valls aims to uphold the Bougival agreement despite FLNKS opposition, which demands a new deal and elections this November, rejecting the agreement's delay of votes until 2026.
- Seeking to salvage the Bougival agreement, Valls heads to New Caledonia after the FLNKS rejected it on 9 August.
- Pro-Independence leaders spurned the Bougival agreement because it omitted a referendum and postponed elections to mid-2026, which FLNKS rejects.
- The FLNKS demands a new ‘Kanaky agreement’ to be signed this year and provincial elections in November 2025, calling for fresh mandates.
- Reacting sharply, pro-French authorities claimed the Bougival agreement remains the best way to secure stability and warned FLNKS demands are ‘blackmail’ that could trigger violence.
- Highlighting the five-year cycle, FLNKS demands a ‘Kanaky agreement’ on New Caledonia Day, this year, before provincial elections in November 2025.
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17 Articles
Manuel Valls travels to New Caledonia to try to save the Bougival agreement, rejected by the FLNKS independants. If the agreement fails, the spiral could be dramatic, and failure would go directly to the former Prime Minister, in search of credibility regained.
After the rejection of the agreement by FLNKS, the National Union for Independence continues to defend the text signed in July, even though it is moving away from its historical partners. Manuel Valls is expected on Tuesday 19 August in Nouméa to try to find a way out.
The Overseas Minister is expected on Tuesday 19 August on the archipelago, where he must meet with local political actors to try to save the agreement on the future of the territory, signed in July but rejected by the main independence movement.
Valls heads to New Caledonia in wake of collapse of independence deal
Political tensions in New Caledonia have flared, as its main pro-independence coalition FLNKS voted against a deal that would have given the French overseas territory some sovereign powers – but no independence referendum, a key demand for activists. France's Overseas Minister Manuel Valls is now heading to the archipelago, in what will be a decisive week for its future.
The Bougival agreement, signed on 12 July, was rejected by the Front de libération nationale kanak socialiste (FLNKS). Manuel Valls will try to save him.
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