Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire
  • omnibus

Political deportation of Kanak leaders sparks more protests in New Caledonia
Peoples Dispatch
26 Jun 2024
Kanak protest
Protest in New Caledonia continue after deportation of independence activists. Source: Kanaky Freedom/X

The arrest and deportation of several prominent Kanak leaders have reignited widespread protests in New Caledonia.

Originally published in People's Dispatch.

The wave of unrest that began in New Caledonia in May intensified again late on Sunday, June 23. Protests were sparked after several independence activists were transferred to France for trial. The activists were arrested on June 19 by French officials on charges related to fueling the mass mobilizations. Officials claim the transfer to France ensures a calm and objective legal process, but figures from the independence movement denounced it as political deportation.

Among the deported activists are leaders from the Coordination Cell for Field Actions (CCAT), including leader Christian Tein and communications coordinator Brenda Wanabo. They were flown to France on Sunday, shocking their legal representatives, who criticized the extreme nature of the decision. The lawyers also expressed concern about the swift implementation of the decision, noting that similar transfers previously took a month or more to carry out. In this case, it appears that the planes were ready to take off with just a few hours’ notice, some of the lawyers pointed out.

Adding to concerns, the activists were distributed across different facilities in France, remaining scattered as they awaited trial.

Since the arrests on June 19 and news of the deportation, solidarity protests have been organized by groups in both New Caledonia and France. The Kanak Movement in France (Mouvement Kanak en France) and the collective Solidarité Kanaky condemned the deportation as reminiscent of France’s colonial practices in Kanaky. Similarly, leaders of the pro-independence party Caledonian Union (Union calédonienne) said the move was illustrative of “France’s colonial, repressive, and retrograde policy against the Kanak people.”

Despite French President Emmanuel Macron freezing the electoral reform that sparked the unrest ahead of the general election, repressive actions like deporting political leaders are likely to prolong protests. Meanwhile, France is preparing for the first round of snap elections called by Macron after his liberal party’s defeat in the European Parliament elections. The far-right National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, are projected to win a significant vote share.

Peoples Dispatch is an international media outlet with the mission of bringing to you voices from people’s movements and organizations across the globe. Since its establishment in 2018, it has sought to ensure that the coverage of news from around the world is not restricted to the rhetoric of politicians and the fortunes of big companies but encompasses the richness and diversity of mobilizations from around the world.

New Caledonia
France
Kanak
Political Repression

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles. Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Editors, The Black Agenda Review
INTERVIEW: France and the Colonial Roots of Black Citizenship, Maboula Soumohoro, 2021
11 December 2024
“How do you fight racism in a land where racism obviously exists, the far r
Kossi “Ayomide” Paul
France, its Far-right, and Africa: An Update on the Ongoing Parliamentary Elections
03 July 2024
France's recent parliamentary elections indicate a rapid political shift to the right.
Rob Grams
New Caledonia: Kanak Revolt Against French Colonialism
22 May 2024
To understand the current uprisings in New Caledonia, one must look back at the history of colonization and violent repression of the islands b
Press conference during the trial of three police officers
Mireille Fanon Mendes France
Does a trial mean justice? Questions asked at the end of Théodore Luhaka’s trial
14 February 2024
The brutal physical assault against Théodore Luhaka by three police officers, and their subsequent acquittal, is a heartbreaking example of the
A lithograph print of the July 3, 1825 landing of French gunboats in Port-au-Prince
Ira Kurzban
Haiti’s Legal Claim for Restitution
10 January 2024
Originally published in Haiti Liberte.
Léopold Sédar Senghor
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
ESSAY: West Africa in Evolution, Léopold Sédar Senghor, 1961
10 October 2023
The current political turbulence in France’s former colonies in Africa can perhaps be understood as the continuation of an unfinished project of de
France Withdraws From Mali, But Continues to Devastate Africa’s Sahel
Vijay Prashad
France Withdraws From Mali, But Continues to Devastate Africa’s Sahel
02 March 2022
The French presence in Africa continues.
2021: Uprising in the Islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique
Philippe Gendrault
2021: Uprising in the Islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique
14 December 2021
Guadeloupe and Martinique are officially French territories, but they are colonized in the truest sense of the word.
Houria Bouteldja and Youssef Boussoumah, co-founders of the Parti des Indigènes de la République in France, detail the party's history, the French anti-racist and anti-imperialist movement, and their own experiences engaging in anti-racist politics over the last fifteen years.
Houria Bouteldja, Youssef Boussoumah
The Parti des Indigènes de la République - A Political Success and the Conspiracy Against It (2005 to 2020)
13 October 2021
Houria Bouteldja and Youssef Boussoumah, co-founders of the Parti des Indigènes de la République in France, detail the party's history, the Fre

More Stories


  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Ryan Coogler, Shedeur Sanders, Karmelo Anthony, and Rodney Hinton, Jr
    07 May 2025
    Black people who are among the rich and famous garner praise and love, and so do those who are in distress. But concerns for the masses of people and their struggles are often missing.
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    LETTER: Thank you, Mr. Howe, Ama Ata Aidoo, 1967
    07 May 2025
    Ama Ata Aidoo lands a knock-out blow to white neocolonial anti-African revisionism.
  • Jon Jeter
    The Only Language the White Settler Speaks: Ohio Police Say Grieving Black Father Avenges Son’s Slaying By Killing One of Theirs
    07 May 2025
    The killing of Timothy Thomas in 2001 ignited Cincinnati’s long-simmering tensions over police violence. This struggle continues today, forcing a painful question: When justice is denied, does…
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    DOGE— Department Of Grifter Enrichment
    07 May 2025
    "DOGE— Department Of Grifter Enrichment" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Brittany Friedman’s Book, “Carceral Apartheid”
    07 May 2025
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Brittany Friedman. Friedman is assistant professor of sociology at the University of…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us