"France is facing resistance as it prepares to host a meeting of New Caledonian parties in Paris from 4 September. Independence parties reject the third independence referendum of December 2021. A visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to New Caledonia, violence at a local nickel plant, the re-election of an independence leader as president of the Congress of New Caledonia, and a rebuke from the Melanesian Spearhead Group all underline the challenges ahead."

Continue reading Denise's article in the ASPI strategist here: Macron faces resistance in New Caledonia.

ANUCES Visiting Fellow Denise Fisher has served as Australian consul-general in Noumea, Australian high commissioner in Harare and political counsellor at the Australian embassy in Washington, and is the author of France in the South Pacific: power and politics.