Frankreich setzt Armee ein und verbietet TikTok im von Unruhen heimgesuchten Neukaledonien: PM

11 comments

1. TIL New Caledonia is a place that exists

   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Caledonia

2. France hitting that “panic” button in New Caledonia like it’s a game of whack-a-mole. Troops, curfews, and banning TikTok? That’s one heck of a trifecta. Next thing you know, they’ll ban pineapple on pizza to really keep the peace.

3. Even New Caledonia was once old Amsterdam
   Why they changed it I can’t say
   People just liked it better that way

4. > France has deployed troops, instituted a curfew and banned TikTok in its riot-hit Pacific territory of New Caledonia, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday.

   > “Soldiers from the armed forces have been deployed to secure the New Caledonia ports and the airport”, Attal told a crisis ministerial meeting in Paris. The territory’s High Commissioner, Louis Le Franc, who had asked for troops, has “announced a curfew and banned TikTok”, Attal said.

   Entire article

5. Basically, France offered three referendum opportunities for independence, independence lost the first two

   The third was when the vaccine roll-out began, and France chose to prioritise the people of outre-mer above people in metropolitan France

   This made Paris very popular to Caledonians, so instead of badly lose, the pro independence side chose to boycott the election

   Now that independence is impossible for the next several decades, France is going to eliminate a racist law that only allows those living in the island before 98 or those of Kanak blood to vote in local elections

   And the pro independence fighters have erupted

6. If France is getting fucked over, I’m all for it!

7. Pro-independence camp lost two high participation referendums in 2018 & 2020. Independence isn’t really a feasible option already, so it doesn’t make sense to disenfranchise people living there for long time on that hope. Also, independentists getting support from Aliyev’s Azerbaijan lately doesn’t make them look good.

8. Have a guess who helped this along. The country first letter is R.

9. man, i was a mormon missionary there years ago. some of the kindest people i’ve ever met in my life. i hope they find peace. :-/

10. Kind of scary when your government silences speech by shutting down communication.

11. For some background, there have been ongoing tensions in New Caledonia since the end of an insurgency in the 1980s. To end the violence, an agreement between France and largely indigenous Kanak pro-indepence groups was made that a series of referendums would be held to determine the future status of the island.

    Three votes were held in 2018, 2020, and 2021, all returned defeats for independence, but the 2021 vote was particularly contentious due to it being boycotted by pro-independence forces.

    The 2021 vote was boycotted, according to Kanak independence groups, due to Kanak cultural traditions around mourning periods and the ongoing pandemic. The prior votes both rejected independence but saw an increase in independence support between 2018 and 2020.

    Loyalist groups instead argue the election was boycotted because the independence forces were going to lose, and thus sought to delegitimise the votes outcome.

    The latest rioting is to do with a change to the law that would allow recent French migrants (those who have lived on the island for 10 years) to the island to vote in the elections, which would dilute the voting powers of indigenous Kanaks significantly.

    Some pro-independence Kanaks see this as a move to marginalise their power within their homeland. France for its parts says its doing it to make the system in New Caledonia more democratic (both positions can be true in this case i think).

    Its also important to note,in terms of the voting, that indigenous Kanaks on the whole back independence, while French descended migrants tend to back staying with France.

    The island economy was also largely dependent in nickle mining, with it hosting one of the worlds largest nickle mines, but an economic downturn in nickle mining has led to economic stress being placed on the island, which has probably further exacerbated tensions.

    For more reading:

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-16/france-declares-state-of-emergency-on-new-caledonia-amid-riots/103853654

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/24/emmanuel-macron-new-caledonia-trip-will-it-break-away-independence-referendum?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other