His last trip there took place barely a year ago but this one promises to be much more sensitive. Emmanuel Macron will take off this evening for New Caledonia to set up a “mission” there, announced government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot. “It was announced by the President of the Republic, in the Council of Ministers, that he will go there. He will leave there this evening to set up a mission there,” she said.
Unprecedented violence shook the island last week, in reaction to a constitutional reform criticized by the separatists. Six people, including two police officers, died. Although relative calm seems to have spread across the archipelago, Nouméa and its surrounding area continue to be the scene of localized clashes. The dams were even expanded or rebuilt in places during the night.