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

Political deportation of Kanak leaders sparks more protests in New Caledonia
Peoples Dispatch
26 Jun 2024
🖨️ Print Article
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

Jon Jeter
Everything Must Change: Roles Reversed as Western Imperialist’s Gory, Glory Days Come to an End
03 December 2025
Europe celebrated defeating fascism in 1945 but immediately resumed its colonial control of the Global South.
Khaled Barakat
Saudi Arabia and France are Leading a ‘Political Genocide’
06 August 2025
The New York Declaration doesn't merely betray Palestine.
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 right is ascendent, but race
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.

More Stories


  • Cornel West Discusses His Presidential Campaign
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Cornel West Discusses His Presidential Campaign
    14 Jun 2023
    Scholar, author, and activist Dr. Cornel West recently announced his 2024 presidential campaign. He discussed his platform and decision to be a candidate for the Green Party nomination. 
  • Trump Indictments Subvert the Legal and Political System
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Trump Indictments Subvert the Legal and Political System
    14 Jun 2023
    The recent indictments of former president Donald Trump are political acts intended to keep him from becoming president again. But the impact of dubious legal precedent should be of greater concern…
  • U.S. Imperialist Gangsterism and Cuba
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    U.S. Imperialist Gangsterism and Cuba
    14 Jun 2023
    The United States has declared war against the Cuban people for more than 60 years.
  • ESSAY: Starvation Misery, and Terror in Dutch Guiana, Anton de Kom, 1934
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: Starvation Misery, and Terror in Dutch Guiana, Anton de Kom, 1934
    14 Jun 2023
    Read this essay by Afro-Surinamese writer and resistance fighter, Anton de Kom, about the entrenched legacy of Dutch racism and colonialism in the Caribbean.
  • Green Party Run for Dr. Cornel West
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Green Party Run for Dr. Cornel West
    14 Jun 2023
    Dr. Cornel West announced a presidential run as a People's Party candidate but later announced he was seeking the Green Party nomination.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us