France’s overseas territories have been swept by a large-scale crisis. A wave of violent protests has ripped through New Caledonia, Martinique and Guadeloupe. While the causes may differ from island to island, they have one thing in common, and that same thing precipitated the collapse of the Soviet Union back in the day.
Recently, a number of hitherto obscure parts of the world have suddenly stormed onto the international political scene. These are the former French colonies, which are still officially classified as the country’s overseas departments and specially designated territories. But they are all so far removed from the metropol, it makes them the textbook definition of ‘out in the boondocks’. Worse still, these regions are fast turning into a thorn in the French government’s flesh.
The odds are, Covid-19 and the ensuing post-pandemic economic slump have amplified the once-dormant feuds and grievances. Those included the erstwhile colonies. To make matters worse, the original French colonists did not do a heck of a job reining in the territories and then co-existing with the locals.
In the once-pristine French Polynesia, they conducted more than a hundred nuclear tests. In Martinique and Guadeloupe, they were making extensive use of the banned carcinogenic pesticide, chlordecone. On Réunion, they abused yet another carcinogenic agent: glyphosate. In 2023, the permission to use it was extended for another decade, even though back in 2017, President Macron vowed to outlaw the substance.
‘[On Réunion, the glyphosate levels in drinking water is 20 to 30 times the WHO-approved limit,’ the local environmentalists fume. “This is a very bad thing and an apparent crime. People keep dying. Children get exposed to it before they can be born. The cancer cases are spiralling.’
But it was not just the use of hazardous agricultural chemicals that recently caused a great furore. Known for its vast nickel mining industry, New Caledonia set its eyes on the territory’s independence long ago. But predictably, they were out-bureaucratised by the French. First, they were biding their time, only to then force three consecutive referendum votes, the final one taking place amid the Covid pandemic, which barred many residents from casting the ballot.
The independence advocates ended up dismissing the results as unrepresentative, while the French government claimed the plebiscite was fair and square. Therefore, New Caledonia, home to 33 nickel mines and a 1,500-strong military base, should forever remain a French dominion. In May, a new election law spawned island-wide unrest accompanied by major looting and arson incidents. Several locals got killed, while hundreds were injured, with a total of more than €2bn in damages. The government declared a curfew (10pm to 5am) and banned the use of firearms by civilians as well as any protest rallies. But it did little to stop the demonstrators, hence the government’s next unpopular move.
They introduced a ban on the sales of alcohol outside bars and restaurants effective till 3 November. The authorities also outlawed the retail of flammable liquids used in the arson attacks and Molotov cocktails and extended the curfew till 4 November. The police are patrolling the streets and using surveillance drones to ensure the restoration of public order. The independence movement leaders were arrested and shipped to France for a court trial.
Just like the French authorities previously accused Pavel Durov of aiding and abetting the crimes perpetrated through Telegram as a communications platform, the independence firebrands were charged with the looting and murders that had occurred during the unrest. From the central authorities’ perspective, this was a shrewd move as it would take a ton of time and effort for the defendants to prove their innocence. Secondly, they would be cut off from their political activism. Meanwhile, the root cause of the insurrection, poverty and mistreatment of the locals, has yet to be addressed.
All of the archipelago’s nickel resources will carry on helping the rich get richer, while the New Caledonians will only be consigned to low-paying jobs in their own homeland. Contrary to the causes of freedom and equality France has been championing for decades, the big picture is that the white masters keep running the lop-sided show. And the former French high commissioner in New Caledonia, Jean-Jacques Brot, is almost spot-on as he compares the recent events with a ‘decolonisation conflict’, except ‘anti-colonial conflict’ appears to be a more fitting characterisation.
But while New Caledonia is rich in nickel, France’s other overseas territories can boast far more modest wealth that mainly stems from agriculture and tourism. No wonder the economic downturn has dealt a heavier blow to these regions than the metropole. Shockingly, though, in Martinique and Guadeloupe, groceries and other products turned out to be even 40 per cent more expensive than they are in mainland France.
Mind you, these territories are now allowed to import cheaper groceries from the nearby countries either, for it will have an adverse impact on the French producers. But technically, the ban is explained by the mandatory compliance with the French food safety standards, and so, it allegedly takes care of the local consumers. However, the latter begged to disagree and embarked on a series of violent protests.
Things took a turn for the worse when Guadeloupe was hit with a blackout on 25 October. Breaching the curfew, people began shoplifting the local businesses, including the high-end jewellery stores. According to the locals, it only affected the lower-income neighbourhoods, as their upscale counterparts happened to be protected by security guards.
Eventually, the French authorities admitted to the overpricing issue and proposed lifting the VAT for the essentials to then ease towards a long-term 20 per cent drop in prices. The bill is now zigzagging through the bureaucratic chicanery, but in a new plot twist, it has been announced that the VAT will be slapped on the products that used to be VAT-free in the overseas departments.
But these bureaucratic wheelings and dealings are overshadowed by the mainland French residents’ reactions. While some believe the New Caledonians must cover the damage incurred by the unrest, bypassing the French taxpayers’ money, their stance on the poorer overseas departments is much harsher.
‘Grant them independence and let them be a new Haiti’ seems to be the sentiment most French people agree with. The overseas game not being worth the candle appears to be a recurrent and rather pervasive motif. Whereas these lands may well be home to their fellow French citizens, the Europeans view them as an out-crowd, and a hostile one at that. Calling for a fate of dirt-poor Haitians is quite self-explanatory.
These troubling recent developments are eerily reminiscent of the ones that were battering the Soviet Union in its waning years: the bad blood between the central regions and the heartland, the vision of entire provinces being a burden and the rampant talk of the costly metropolitan ‘maintenance’ fees. This sentiment piggybacks off the central government’s inability to address the pressing issues it is faced with.
If the unraveling crisis passes the point of no return, those seeking to have France devoid of its overseas departments may eventually celebrate. However, the separatist tendencies are as prominent in Corsica and Brittany as well, but there is a catch. Brittany is part of mainland France.
That is why the Macron administration will be doing their utmost to keep those overseas territories tethered to the metropole. If one province secedes, others will sure follow suit. After all, the West’s decolonisation policy is only meant to be exported. In other words, let others shed their territories and people.