France in the South Pacific Power and Politics
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France in the South Pacific Power and Politics France in the South Pacific Power and Politics Denise Fisher Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at http://epress.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Fisher, Denise, author. Title: France in the South Pacific : power and politics / Denise Fisher. ISBN: 9781922144942 (paperback) 9781922144959 (eBook) Notes: Includes bibliographical references. Subjects: France--Foreign relations--Oceania. Oceania--Foreign relations--France. France--Foreign relations--New Caledonia. New Caledonia--Foreign relations--France. Dewey Number: 327.44095 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design and layout by ANU E Press Printed by Griffin Press This edition © 2013 ANU E Press Contents Acknowledgements . vii List of maps, figures and tables . ix Glossary and acronyms . xi Maps . xix Introduction . 1 Part I — France in the Pacific to the 1990s 1. The French Pacific presence to World War II . 13 2. France manages independence demands and nuclear testing 1945–1990s . 47 3 . Regional diplomatic offensive 1980s–1990s . 89 Part II — France in the Pacific: 1990s to present 4. New Caledonia: Implementation of the Noumea Accord and political evolution from 1998 . 99 5. French Polynesia: Autonomy or independence? . 179 6. France’s engagement in the region from the 1990s: France, its collectivities, the European Union and the region . 191 Part III — France in the Pacific: Present and future 7. French motivations in the Pacific . 239 8. France’s future role in the region . 271 Appendix 1. Wording of Noumea Accord and 1999 Organic Law on Restricted Electorates . 301 Appendix 2. Principal statutory measures and proposals: New Caledonia and French Polynesia . 307 References and bibliography . 311 v Acknowledgements I would like to thank Peter Brown, Robert Aldrich, Hugh White, Darrell Tryon and Stewart Firth for their encouragement and strategic advice in the preparation of this book. There are many who have provided particular inspiration. These include Marie- Claude Tjibaou, who asked me not to forget the people of New Caledonia; Déwé Gorodey, Roch Wamytan, Paul Néaoutyine, the late Jacques Lafleur, Pierre Frogier, Thierry Lataste, the late Paul de Deckker, Alain Christnacht, Jean-Yves Faberon, Nathalie Mrgudovic, Stephen Henningham, Malcolm Leader, David O’Leary, Penny Wensley AC and Frédéric Angleviel. Angela and Mike Smith, Nicole Jamieson, Véronique and Thierry Lataste, and Chantal and Bernard Attali offered ports of call along the way. Thank you too to the highly professional staff of the French Embassy in Australia, and to officials, both French and local, in Paris, Noumea, Tahiti and Matu Utu, whose warmth and support have enriched my respect, understanding and affection for those working to ensure a stable and fair future for the people of our region. I am indebted to colleagues in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade who have enlarged and shaped my view of the world over a career of 30 years. I appreciate the support of Jacqueline Lo and The Australian National University (ANU) Centre for European Studies, where I have been based for the last year. Peter Brown and the ANU School of Languages assisted with some early, much appreciated, research funding. Thanks too to Justine Molony and Duncan Beard for editing. My husband Denis and three sons Damien, Adrian and Jonathan, and my late parents, Carmel and Trevor Kaine, provided valued support and interest. vii List of maps, figures and tables Maps Map 1 France in the South Pacific, including Exclusive Economic Zones xix Map 2 New Caledonia xx Map 3 Location of hydrocarbons off New Caledonia xxi Map 4 French Polynesia xxii Map 5 Wallis and Futuna xxiii Figures Figure 4.1 New Caledonia — Census and population composition 1911–2004 108 Figure 4.2 New Caledonia — Fertility index change by province 111 1981–2007 Tables Table 4.1a New Caledonia — Population: Kanaks, Europeans and others 107 1887–2009 Table 4.1b New Caledonia — Ethnic composition of population, 1996 and 107 2009 Table 4.2 New Caledonia — Place of birth 1983–2004 114 Table 4.3 New Caledonia — Demographic summary 1983–2009 115 Table 4.4 New Caledonia — Estimated annual population and migration 115 figures 1981–2007 Table 4.5 New Caledonia — Population by province 1976–2009 116 Table 4.6 New Caledonia — Political institutions 151 Table 4.7 New Caledonia — Post-Noumea Accord election results 157 Table 4.8 List of French ministers/secretaries of state for Overseas France 168 1999–present Table 5.1 French Polynesia — Contribution of pearl exports to total 188 exports 2006–2008 Table 6.1 Indicative figures on France’s assistance to the region 198 Table 6.2 French global bilateral public development assistance 200 disbursements 2007 and 2008 Table 6.3 Participation of French Pacific collectivities in Pacific regional 208 organisations ix Glossary and acronyms Glossary broussard European long-term resident of New Caledonia living mainly on farms or in rural villages Caldoche European long-term resident of New Caledonia, often second and third generation Indigénat (native code) system confining Kanaks to designated areas, taxing them, subjecting them to punishment by administrators rather than judges, and requiring them to work on government projects, from 1887 to 1946 événements (events) term used by the French for the civil disturbances in New Caledonia from 1984 to 1988 Kanak indigenous people of New Caledonia, Melanesians metropolitan expression deriving from the French métropolitain meaning from the métropole or continental France Mwâ Kâ (big house) totemic monument in central Noumea outre-mer (overseas France) collective expression referring to all French departments, territories and collectivities overseas régalien (regalian) sovereign, pertaining to the French sovereign state, often referred to in the context of the Noumea Accord as the five powers retained solely by the French State by the end of the Accord (2018); i.e., defence, foreign affairs, currency, justice and public order Acronyms French and historic institutions ADECAL Agence de Développement Économique de la Nouvelle- Calédonie (New Caledonia Economic Development Agency) AFD Agence Française de Développement (French Development Agency) xi France in the South Pacific: Power and Politics CEP Centre d’Expérimentation du Pacifique (Pacific Experimentation Centre): name for the French nuclear testing facility in French Polynesia CFP Currency of the French Pacific entities, variously translated in the early years as ‘Colonies Françaises du Pacifique’ or ‘French Pacific colonies’; ‘Change Français du Pacifique’ from 1947; and, in recent years, ‘Cours’ or ‘Comptoir’ ‘Français Pacifique’. It has a fixed value relative to the Euro, CFP1 = Euro.00838. COM Collectivités d’Outre-Mer (overseas collectivities) COMSUP Commandant Supérieur (commander of French armed forces) DOM-TOM Départements d’Outre-Mer, Territoires d’Outre-Mer (overseas departments and territories) EFO Établissements Français d’Océanie (French Pacific establishments, the former name for French Polynesia) EUR Euro FANC Forces Armées de la Nouvelle-Calédonie (New Caledonian armed forces (French)) IFREMER Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (French Research Institute for Marine Exploitation) INCO now Vale INCO, multinational nickel company operating in New Caledonia INERIS Institut National de l’Environnement Industriel et des Risques (National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risk) INSEE Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies) IRD Institut de recherche pour le développement (Institute for Development Research) ISEE/ ITSEE Institut de la statistique et des études économiques/Institut territorial de la statistique et des études économiques (Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies/Territorial Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (New Caledonia)) ISPF Institut de la statistique de Polynésie Française (Statistics Institute of French Polynesia) LMS London Missionary Society RFO Radio France Outre-Mer, France’s overseas broadcasting service SLN Société le Nickel (The Nickel Company), French-owned nickel company in New Caledonia STSEE Service Territorial de la Statistique et des Études Économiques (Territorial Service for Statistics and Economic Studies) (Wallis and Futuna) xii Glossary and acronyms Regional Pacific institutions ADB Asian Development Bank CRISP Coral Reef Initiative for the South Pacific CROP Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific EDF Economic Development Fund FFA Forum Fisheries Agency FRANZ France, Australia, New Zealand Arrangements MSG Melanesian Spearhead Group NFIP Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific, anti-nuclear NGO OCO Oceania Customs Organisation PACER Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations PECC Pacific Economic Cooperation Council PICTA Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement PIDP Pacific Islands Development Program PIF Pacific Islands Forum (formerly South Pacific Forum (SPF), 1971– 2000) PITA Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association PPA Pacific Power Association PREPARE Pacific Regional Endeavour for an Appropriate Response to Epidemics