New Caledonia or Kanaky is a French overseas territory with (a special status) located in southwest Pacific. France took formal possession of the archipelago back in 1853 and, shortly thereafter, New Caledonia became a penal colony. Following WWII, New Caledonia became an overseas territory and, in 1953, French citizenship was granted to all New Caledonians, regardless of ethnicity.

Many, including the indigenous Kanak people, nevertheless, do not favor remaining a part of France. And so, following a period of unrest, known as The Events (or "Les Événements" in French), the Nouméa Accord was signed. This guaranteed New Caledonia a series of referendum on whether to remain a special collectivity of France or become an independent state. And that was that; until 2024 when, following three referendums, in which the majority chose to remain a part of France, Paris decided to implement voting reforms. As per the Nouméa Accord, voting in local elections was limited to Kanak, those living in New Caledonia before 1998, and their descendants who maintained 10 years of continuous residency. Known as "frozen electorate," many considered this rule unnecessary in light of the referendums. However, the proposed voting reform saw riots break out across New Caledonia.

A 12day state of emergency was declared, while French troops were deployed to secure Nouméa's international airport. The unrest, nonetheless, continued, eventually prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to delay the voting reform. However, the situation remains tense and France has accused other countries, like Azerbaijan, of "foreign interference."

In this episode of a new miniseries on the channel we're calling GC News, we'll be looking into what happened in New Caledonia. Going forward, we also plan to cover other geopolitical news in shorter, newsflashtype episodes too.

#history #newcaledonia #kanaky #france #oceania #geography #ghostcountries #geopolitics

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro + 2024 New Caledonia Unrest
01:28 History of New Caledonia
02:38 Frozen Electorate + Independence Referendums
05:37 Voting Reform
09:14 The Azerbaijan Factor
11:18 Ghost Countries Index

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Intro Animation + Character Design: Emily Clearwater (iamprettyawesome.co.nz)

Background Music:

Clash Defiant Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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