-
20:32
-
16:45
-
16:30
-
16:00
-
15:30
-
15:10
-
14:40
-
14:20
-
14:00
Follow us on Facebook
New Caledonia: Overseas Minister postpones visit due to budget deadlines
French Overseas Minister Naïma Moutchou has postponed her planned visit to New Caledonia due to urgent budgetary deadlines in Paris, the ministry announced Saturday. The trip, initially scheduled for early next week, was meant to address the ongoing institutional and political challenges on the Pacific territory, still affected by the May 2024 riots.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu requested that the minister delay her travel by a few days to allow her to assist parliamentarians in finalizing a demanding and balanced budget trajectory for France’s overseas territories.
During her visit, Moutchou was expected to discuss the future of the territory’s governance, the postponement of provincial elections, and the Bougival agreement. Signed in July between the French state, non-independents, and independents, the agreement proposes the creation of a New Caledonian State within the French Constitution and recognizes a Caledonian nationality. It also schedules provincial elections for mid-2026.
While the Bougival agreement has support from most local political forces and some independentist groups, it has been rejected by the FLNKS, the main Kanak and socialist independence movement.