Under a new flag? Defining citizenship in New Caledonia

Abstract

"This paper focuses on debates about New Caledonian citizenship over the last decade, at a time when the islands are moving closer to a decision on their final political status, and the Kanak independence movement is still seeking the transfer of full political sovereignty from France to an independent nation—Kanaky. The paper also outlines some of the special rights attributed to the indigenous Kanak people; details a series of legal and political challenges to a more restrictive notion of citizenship; and describes how new voting rights were entrenched into French law in the dying days of the Chirac presidency. A central theme throughout the paper is the way that a number of key conservative politicians have attempted to move away from the commitments they made in signing the Noumea Accord. Their ongoing vision of New Caledonia as an integral part of the French republic may scuttle attempts to build a ‘common destiny’ between the indigenous Kanak population and those recognised as the ‘victims of history’, the descendants of convicts, settlers and immigrant workers who have made New Caledonia their home ..." - page 1-2