L’autodétermination pour solder la colonisation : le cas de la Nouvelle-Calédonie

Abstract

Built on the basis of a literature review on colonial history, contemporary socio-spatial dynamics and an analysis of the electoral results of the last thirty years in New Caledonia, this article shows the long process that has led to self-determination, following a long period of hard colonization and decolonization in trompe-l'oeil. "Rebalancing", which has been in operation for more than three decades, has difficulty reducing differences between communities in a nickel-dominated territory with an economy suffering from Dutch disease. On 4 November 2018, a small and unprecedented electorate was asked the following question: "Do you want New Caledonia to achieve full sovereignty and become independent? ». Although broad, the victory of the "No" by 56.7% against 43.3% for the "Yes" is closer than expected and it was the independentists who gave the impression that they had won this referendum. The spatial distribution of the "Yes" and "No" is the copy of the distribution of Kanak and Europeans, revealing the deep divisions of this society.

Keywords

• New Caledonia
• Kanak
• electoral geography
• Overseas France
• indigenous people
• socio-spatial inequalities