New Caledonia: Bougival Agreement fractures independence supporters

"Let's bet on trust" : the phrase subtitled the Bougival agreement signed on July 12 is displayed in large letters on the wall of the amphitheater at the University of New Caledonia, where the National Union for Independence (UNI) had invited New Caledonians on Saturday, August 16. The formula has, however, been in jeopardy since the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) decided to no longer pursue discussions on this agreement , which it considers "incompatible with the achievements and fundamentals of our struggle."

"Bougival is a step forward towards independence," believes Jean-Pierre Djaïwé, spokesperson for the Kanak Liberation Party (Palika), a movement that makes up the UNI with the Progressive Union in Melanesia (UPM). At the end of the road lies "the achievement of full sovereignty. Simply, we are changing paradigms and we must recognize that we have all emerged bruised from the three referendums provided for in the Noumea Accord," he assures. The Bougival Accord provides, in fact, instead of referendums on independence, a transfer of sovereign powers (diplomacy initially, then on a case-by-case basis currency, justice, security and defense) by the vote of the Congress, the local deliberative assembly, by a qualified majority of three-fifths plus three seats. A threshold deemed unattainable by the FLNKS, leading de facto to the maintenance of New Caledonia in France, while the UNI considers that it is now a question of "building with others, by seeking alliance majorities" .

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