Mayor of Nouméa since 2014, Sonia Lagarde, 75, is an atypical political figure in New Caledonia's non-independence camp. The granddaughter of a convict sent to the Pacific territory, the former centrist MP was an early supporter of Emmanuel Macron when he ran for president in 2017.

At a time when her city has been devastated by a week of riots, Lagarde calls for dialogue and the suspension of the constitutional reform that is meant to unfreeze the territory's electoral body. In her view, these are the conditions for a return to calm. She asks that the reform not be "forced through," even as Macron has set an ultimatum: Barring an unlikely agreement between the pro-independence and loyalist sides, the bill passed by the Assemblée and Sénat must now be adopted in a joint session of Parliament "before the end of June," demanded the French leader.

They are considerable. The first estimate was €200 million, but it's much more than that. Many businesses have been destroyed, as well as supermarkets, car dealerships and our libraries. There are trenches in the roads. The priority is to restore the roads so that we can go on the field to see the full extent of the disaster, as we can't get everywhere yet. After that, we'll have to clean up, but the municipal facilities have been set on fire, as has the municipal vehicle fleet.

I had been very worried for several months. I kept telling myself that things were going to go wrong. I don't think I've been heard. And when I see all this, I who have been mayor for 10 years, who has worked hard to make this city a pleasant place to live, I'm disillusioned, angry and sad. All the work we've done with our young people has been wiped out.

Political discourse has been radicalized for some time now, on both sides. With a sort of law of retaliation, where everyone systematically retaliated with insults. People took to the streets, got on trucks and said: "We're going to make a mess! "[in reference to comments made by the loyalist president of the South Province, Sonia Backès, during a non-independence demonstration].

For years, the independentists have been "selling" independence, independence, independence, and nothing else, before every election. They're in a bind because getting out of [this position] is extremely complicated. The loyalists, who are just as locked in, tell you: "There have been three referendums [saying no to independence in 2018, 2020 and 2021], and now it's over." Faced with such radical positions, I would have liked us to change our stance and say, "We have a country to build." I would have liked to see a step toward appeasement.

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