Emmanuel Macron goes to New Caledonia “this evening” | EUROtoday

Published on : 05/21/2024 – 11:51Modified : 05/21/2024 – 12:06

2 minutes

Emmanuel Macron will go “this evening” to New Caledonia, shaken for greater than per week by riots and blockades, to arrange “a mission” there, authorities spokesperson Prisca Thevenot introduced on Tuesday, May 21. .

“It was announced by the President of the Republic, in the Council of Ministers, that he will go there [dans le territoire du Pacifique sud]. He will leave there this evening to set up a mission there,” she said.

The president is leaving “in a spirit of duty”, added the spokesperson without detailing the “mission” mentioned or specifying how long the head of state would stay on the archipelago.

She reiterated that “the return to order was the prerequisite for any dialogue”, while an electoral reform contested by the separatists must be validated “earlier than the tip of June” according to Emmanuel Macron, by the Congress bringing together senators and deputies.

But “the manager continues (…) the development of the political answer for the territory”, she also said.

The extension of the state of emergency, decreed last Wednesday, “was not mentioned” during this Council of Ministers, the government spokesperson further indicated. “If the situation needs to be further improved, it is on the way to normalizing,” she explained.

This exceptional situation cannot be extended beyond twelve days without submitting a text to Parliament. A possible extension would require a referral to the National Assembly and the Senate before May 27.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal will “even have the chance to go there (to the archipelago), not instantly however within the coming weeks”, specified Ms. Thevenot while the Caledonian file has no longer been managed directly by Matignon since 2020 and that three former Prime Ministers are pleading for it to be managed again from rue de Varenne.

After a week of riots in reaction to a reform of the electoral body which left six dead including two gendarmes, Emmanuel Macron noted during a Defense Council on Monday “clear progress within the restoration of order” in New Caledonia.

On this occasion, the executive decided to mobilize military personnel “for a time” to “shield public buildings” and thus relieve the inner safety forces, in keeping with the Elysée.

Nouméa worldwide airport, nonetheless, stays closed to business flights till Saturday 9:00 a.m. (12:00 a.m. in Paris), the platform supervisor mentioned on Tuesday.

With AFP