Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Political deportation of Kanak leaders sparks more protests in New Caledonia
Peoples Dispatch
26 Jun 2024
šŸ–Øļø Print Article
Kanak protest
Protest in New Caledonia continue after deportation of independence activists. Source: Kanaky Freedom/X

The arrest and deportation of several prominent Kanak leaders have reignited widespread protests in New Caledonia.

Originally published in People's Dispatch.

The wave of unrest that began in New Caledonia in May intensified again late on Sunday, June 23. Protests were sparked after several independence activists were transferred to France for trial. The activists were arrested on June 19 by French officials on charges related to fueling the mass mobilizations. Officials claim the transfer to France ensures a calm and objective legal process, but figures from the independence movement denounced it as political deportation.

Among the deported activists are leaders from the Coordination Cell for Field Actions (CCAT), including leader Christian Tein and communications coordinator Brenda Wanabo. They were flown to France on Sunday, shocking their legal representatives, who criticized the extreme nature of the decision. The lawyers also expressed concern about the swift implementation of the decision, noting that similar transfers previously took a month or more to carry out. In this case, it appears that the planes were ready to take off with just a few hours’ notice, some of the lawyers pointed out.

Adding to concerns, the activists were distributed across different facilities in France, remaining scattered as they awaited trial.

Since the arrests on June 19 and news of the deportation, solidarity protests have been organized by groups in both New Caledonia and France. The Kanak Movement in France (Mouvement Kanak en France) and the collective SolidaritĆ© Kanaky condemned the deportation as reminiscent of France’s colonial practices in Kanaky. Similarly, leaders of the pro-independence party Caledonian Union (Union calĆ©donienne) said the move was illustrative of ā€œFrance’s colonial, repressive, and retrograde policy against the Kanak people.ā€

Despite French President Emmanuel Macron freezing the electoral reform that sparked the unrest ahead of the general election, repressive actions like deporting political leaders are likely to prolong protests. Meanwhile, France is preparing for the first round of snap elections called by Macron after his liberal party’s defeat in the European Parliament elections. The far-right National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, are projected to win a significant vote share.

Peoples Dispatch is an international media outlet with the mission of bringing to you voices from people’s movements and organizations across the globe. Since its establishment in 2018, it has sought to ensure that the coverage of news from around the world is not restricted to the rhetoric of politicians and the fortunes of big companies but encompasses the richness and diversity of mobilizations from around the world.

New Caledonia
France
Kanak
Political Repression

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Jon Jeter
Everything Must Change: Roles Reversed as Western Imperialist’s Gory, Glory Days Come to an End
03 December 2025
Europe celebrated defeating fascism in 1945 but immediately resumed its colonial control of the Global South.
Khaled Barakat
Saudi Arabia and France are Leading a ā€˜Political Genocide’
06 August 2025
The New York Declaration doesn't merely betray Palestine.
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
INTERVIEW: France and the Colonial Roots of Black Citizenship, Maboula Soumohoro, 2021
11 December 2024
ā€œHow do you fight racism in a land where racism obviously exists, the far right is ascendent, but race
Kossi ā€œAyomideā€ Paul
France, its Far-right, and Africa: An Update on the Ongoing Parliamentary Elections
03 July 2024
France's recent parliamentary elections indicate a rapid political shift to the right.
Rob Grams
New Caledonia: Kanak Revolt Against French Colonialism
22 May 2024
To understand the current uprisings in New Caledonia, one must look back at the history of colonization and violent repression of the islands b
Press conference during the trial of three police officers
Mireille Fanon Mendes France
Does a trial mean justice? Questions asked at the end of ThĆ©odore Luhaka’s trial
14 February 2024
The brutal physical assault against ThƩodore Luhaka by three police officers, and their subsequent acquittal, is a heartbreaking example of the
A lithograph print of the July 3, 1825 landing of French gunboats in Port-au-Prince
Ira Kurzban
Haiti’s Legal Claim for Restitution
10 January 2024
Originally published in Haiti Liberte.
Léopold Sédar Senghor
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
ESSAY: West Africa in Evolution, Léopold Sédar Senghor, 1961
10 October 2023
The current political turbulence in France’s former colonies in Africa can perhaps be understood as the continuation of an unfinished project of de
France Withdraws From Mali, But Continues to Devastate Africa’s Sahel
Vijay Prashad
France Withdraws From Mali, But Continues to Devastate Africa’s Sahel
02 March 2022
The French presence in Africa continues.
2021: Uprising in the Islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique
Philippe Gendrault
2021: Uprising in the Islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique
14 December 2021
Guadeloupe and Martinique are officially French territories, but they are colonized in the truest sense of the word.

More Stories


  • Orisanmi Burton and his book, "Tip of the Sphere"
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Orisanmi Burton’s Book, ā€œTip of the Spearā€
    25 Oct 2023
    This week’s featured author is Orisanmi Burton. His book is Tip of the Spear: Black Radicalism, Prison Repression, and the Long Attica Revolt
  • Javonte Alexander (left) and Basaime Spate (right), researchers at Center for Justice Innovation.
    Shannon Chaffers
    Driven By Fear: Why Some Brooklyn Youth Carry Guns
    25 Oct 2023
    Tropes about violent Black youth prevail but efforts to analyze the causes of firearm use are rarely seen.
  • Niger army sergeant and artist Maman Sani Maigochi performs as supporters gather at Place de la Concertation in the capital Niamey
    Black Alliance For Peace
    AFRICOM Watch Bulletin #48
    25 Oct 2023
    The Black Alliance for Peace U.S. Out of Africa Network provides an update of events taking place on the African continent.
  • Caribbean Solidarity Network
    Caribbean Solidarity Network
    The Caribbean Solidarity Network Rejects Calls for Canadian Intervention in Haiti
    25 Oct 2023
    The Toronto based Caribbean Solidarity Network explains why Canada should end its interference in Haiti.
  • An injured child is treated at a hospital after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, 18 October
    Maureen Clare Murphy , Ali Abunimah
    Biden’s Gaza ā€œAidā€ Plan a Fig Leaf for Genocide
    25 Oct 2023
    Biden's phony plea for aid to Gaza is a ruse meant to accelerate Israel's war crimes.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us