Macron Suspends Controversial Voting Reform in New Caledonia
The Facts
French Pres. Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday suspended controversial voting reforms in Pacific island New Caledonia, prompted by one month of violent protests and civil unrest in the French colony
The proposed changes would’ve given voting rights to non-indigenous residents of the island, leading members of the native Kanak people to feel that they would become further marginalized in their own land. Violence erupted on May 13, and France declared a national emergency in the territory on May 15.
The Spin
French colonialism has subjugated the Kanak people of New Caledonia for far too long, creating a situation in which a native people have become a minority. The proposed voting reforms would have further disenfranchised Kanaks by diluting their votes and undermining their efforts for increased self-governance. Macron and his government have botched this situation, and the Kanak people were justified in their protest of France’s ongoing colonization.
The predicament of the Kanak people has many parallels throughout the world, and it exposes a stunning level of hypocrisy on the left. The liberal mainstream is eager to express concern for the plight of an indigenous group of people that is becoming a minority in their homeland while having their votes diluted by non-indigenous immigrants. That is, unless the indigenous group is White Europeans. There are strong arguments for the Kanak right to self-determination, and those same arguments apply to European