The French presidential Airbus clocked another 35,000-kilometer round-trip to make an express surprise visit with a result that was anything but guaranteed. President Emmanuel Macron arrived on Thursday, May 23, at 8:30 am (local time) in New Caledonia, a French territory in the Pacific Ocean shaken by riots, and left around midnight. He did not utter the word that the pro-independence Indigenous Kanak activists had all been waiting for: "withdrawal."

They were hoping he would withdraw the constitutional bill on the enlargement of the electoral body ahead of the next electoral elections, the spark that reignited the revolt. But Macron had other plans: "After listening to everyone, I have committed to ensuring that this reform will not be forced through, today, and that we will give ourselves a few weeks to allow for appeasement, the resumption of dialogue with a view to a global agreement."

The political agreement between pro-independence factions and loyalists has been awaited for two years, since the end of the process of three failed independence referendums. The agreement is meant to redefine the status of New Caledonia and its links with France. It will include a chapter on New Caledonian citizenship, as well as a process of self-determination, which, according to the president, could be sealed by a referendum.

Since May 13, Nouméa and its surrounding area have been devastated by violent rioters who have methodically targeted the economic base of New Caledonia's capital, burning down nearly 400 industrial and commercial sites. Barricades continue to cut off the flow of traffic to the city and its airport, at the risk of paralyzing the entire archipelago. Some roadblocks are manned by pro-independence activists, sometimes joined by radical elements, while residents of the more affluent southern districts have also erected barriers, anxious to protect their property, and heavily armed themselves. A state of emergency was declared on May 15.

While meeting with police officers at Nouméa's central police station, Macron spoke of "an absolutely unprecedented movement of insurrection that no one had seen coming with such a level of violence." He added: "What I've been able to see of New Caledonia so far is mutual aid and sharing. Personally, I didn't expect it at all, no one could have foreseen the scale of it."

Asked whether he would describe the outbreak of violence on May 13 as a Kanak insurrection, the president told Le Monde "reality will tell us," and that he "wants to remain cautious at this stage." He called it "a protean movement," saying that pro-independence leaders had seen known delinquents join the movement, but that those politically responsible were the radical CCAT branch of the independence FLNKS movement. "If it's a political movement, our bet is to come up with a political response," he said.

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