A-Infos (en) France, OCL CA #359 - Charges dropped against Kanak mutineers! -- See online: Kanaky Solidarity (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Kanaky  New Caledonia, in the South Pacific, remains on the UN list of 
countries to be decolonized. It is not a French territory: France is 
merely the administering power. The Nouméa Accord, signed in 1998, 
stipulated three referendums on self-determination. In 2020, during the 
second referendum, independence was decided by only 9,000 votes. In 
2021, the French state imposed the date of the third referendum during 
the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, despite the pro-independence 
movement's request for postponement. The Kanak people did not 
participate in this referendum, which was held under military control 
(there was an abstention rate of over 50%). The FLNKS (Kanak and 
Socialist National Liberation Front) and the UN do not recognize the 
conditions of this latest referendum. Despite this, the French state is 
still attempting a forced withdrawal from the Nouméa Accord  and it 
continues to deport to France many Kanak prisoners who rioted in 2024 
during the riots against the "unfreezing" of the New Caledonian 
electoral roll.

In 2024, the bill on the "unfreezing" of the New Caledonian electoral 
roll, proposed by the French state, crystallized the local political 
situation. Indeed, the freezing of this electoral roll is a red line 
that the Kanak people cannot cross, as it protects their voices from the 
settler colonialism represented by mass immigration from France. 
Pro-independence mobilizations against the state's plan were therefore 
massive throughout the territory, facilitated in part by the CCAT (Field 
Action Coordination Cell), and a popular uprising took place on May 13, 
2024, the day the bill was passed in the National Assembly. However, 
this uprising was brutally repressed, with colonial security forces 
receiving support from racist and colonial armed militias: 13 Kanaks 
were shot dead, many others wounded, and more than 3,000 arrests were made.

At the same time, Camp Est, the country's main prison and former 
colonial penal colony in Nouméa, experienced one of the largest riots in 
its history: more than a third of the cells were burned and destroyed in 
a single night. The army dispersed a demonstration of support that was 
taking place outside the prison and surrounded it for several days.

Over 90% of the prison population at Camp Est is Kanak, with the 
remaining inmates being of Pacific Islander origin. The systemic racial 
discrimination prevalent throughout the territory is even more 
pronounced in prisons, and the Nouméa court applies a form of colonial 
justice by handing down harsh sentences to Kanak defendants. The 
Inspector of Places of Deprivation of Liberty has issued several 
alarming reports on prison conditions at Camp Estin some sections, metal 
shipping containers serve as cells, cramming up to five inmates instead 
of two, and the unsanitary conditions are appallingand the 
administrative court has echoed these reports. It is against this 
situation that the inmates have risen up en masse, for their dignity and 
that of their people.

But prison conditions worsened in the following weeks. According to 
numerous prisoner testimonies, the RAID, the GIGN, and several ERIS 
(Regional Intervention and Security Teams) units from France intervened 
swiftly and brutally on two occasions: flash-ball rounds were fired, 
stun grenades were thrown into cells, beatings were carried out nightly 
in the courtyards, prisoners were dragged on the ground over broken 
porcelain, and they were placed in solitary confinement for hours with 
zip ties tightly fastened around their wrists in a room filled with 
urine. Food and exercise time were restricted, and they underwent 
invasive strip searches, among other measures.

Several prisoners were injured, but the infirmary was, of course, 
closed. One of them succumbed to his injuries after more than a week of 
agony, despite protests from other prisoners demanding medical 
treatment, and no autopsy was performed to determine the cause of death.

Active solidarity with all Kanak deportees...
The French state then organized, in June and July 2024, mass 
deportations of Kanak prisoners to France in complete secrecy (without 
notifying families, without responding to lawyers). Several other 
deportations, smaller in number, took place until December 2025. The 
media extensively covered the deportations of seven pro-independence 
activists from the CCAT, including the current president of the FLNKS, 
but said very little about the others, even though for all of them these 
were forced displacements in violation of international law (Kanaky is 
not France) as well as the detainees' right to privacy and family life.

The Kanaky Solidarity Collective in France launched a search for these 
detainees in June 2024. A working group has been monitoring their 
situation ever since, providing them with material, financial, and legal 
support. We have identified more than 70 deportees since May 2024 and 
are currently monitoring more than 90, including previously deported 
individuals who have contacted us. Many are isolated from their families.

In early February, we learned with horror, anger, and profound sadness 
of the death in his cell of Frédéric Grochain, who was deported to 
France in June 2024. We were in contact with him, and his lawyer works 
with us. He was 31 years old. The autopsy results clearly indicate 
neglect of medical care: his lungs were infected with tuberculosis. His 
brother, who had just arrived in France, learned of his death when he 
called the prison to request a visiting permit.
No one outside knew that Frédéric was ill. This raises many questions 
and highlights the importance of visits to understand the situation of 
detainees. An investigation has been opened and is ongoing. Frédéric's 
family and lawyer intend to sue the State for its responsibility in the 
lack of medical care and Frédéric's deportation, which directly led to 
his death.

Many other deported Kanak detainees are isolated here in France. 
Frédéric, like other Kanak detainees, had requested to return to his 
homeland. Some did so to complete their sentences there, but all have 
faced explicit or implicit refusals (no response). Appeals have been 
filed for several of them.

A year ago, the lawyer for two detainees secured their return to their 
homeland at the State's expense, and their valid passports were ready as 
of June 2025. But at the end of November, they were transferred from 
their prison in the south of France to Réau prison in the Île-de-France 
region, where the guards told them their return was scheduled for a few 
days later. Their families back home had been notified. But when they 
were taken to Roissy airport for a flight to Kanaky (New Caledonia), 
they were told at the boarding gate that their departure was canceled, 
and they were taken back to Réau without even returning their belongings 
or informing their lawyer of this false start. We learned of this from a 
family member a week later. An administrative appeal was filed by the 
lawyer, followed by an emergency injunction, which was rejected. But 
finally, we have just learned, through a letter from one of these 
detainees, that they will be released during the week of March 9, 2026. 
This is a victory, and we hope it will serve as a precedent for the 
cases of other detainees.

Our collective continues to demand the immediate return of all Kanak 
prisoners who wish to return, whether they are serving or nearing the 
end of their sentences, at the State's expense. We will soon publish a 
joint statement on this matter, after having contacted members of 
Parliament, because only mobilization and collective action can create a 
balance of power.

We also remain committed to finding housing or employment solutions for 
all prisoners who find themselves here at the end of their sentences or 
released under alternative sentencing arrangements. Some are on parole 
with a ban on returning to their homeland; for others, it is the 
sentencing judge who releases them conditionally here because they 
cannot afford a plane ticket. Some are in a situation of extreme 
vulnerability, compounded by a non-functional social security number. We 
also assist them with administrative procedures  and we remind everyone 
that we have an online fundraising campaign set up by the Justice and 
Freedom Committee for Kanaky, which provides funds for this support, 
whether they are in detention or struggling outside.

Finally, regarding the major 2024 prison riot, we know that several 
deported Kanak detainees have cases under investigation with serious 
charges, such as "hostage-taking" or "attempted escape." We have also 
learned that other detainees who are not currently under investigation 
have been questioned about this riot since the fall of 2025, and that 
some have been held in custody. These cases appear to be separate, with 
hearings scheduled in different cities. An expedited hearing that was 
supposed to take place last January has been postponed. Another hearing 
for a former inmate, scheduled for early March in Sarreguemines, was 
also postponed. However, he realized that his official statement didn't 
accurately reflect his previous statements and intends to contest it. 
Yet another hearing is scheduled for March 26 in Évreux for another 
inmate. We are closely monitoring these cases and ensuring that all 
defendants have access to legal representation.
We still don't know the status of those currently detained in Kanaky, 
who are also reportedly facing prosecution. A local group is trying to 
monitor their situation, but in any case, the Solidarité Kanaky 
collective is calling for the immediate dropping of charges against all 
the mutineers at Camp Est.

...and mobilization against all the maneuvers of the French State!

Today, the political situation is tense in Kanaky with the new draft 
agreement, known as the Bougival Agreement, to be signed on July 12, 
2025, concerning the future of the territory. Once again, the French 
State has returned to the charge of withdrawing from the Nouméa Accord. 
This project aims to create a New Caledonian state within the French 
Republic, that is to say, a pure and simple annexation of the territory, 
and with the continued "unfreezing" of the electoral roll and the 
plundering of resources such as nickel. Economic blackmail is clearly at 
play, given the catastrophic situation in the archipelago: over 25,000 
unemployed, a CAFAT (the Senegalese social security fund) that can no 
longer afford to pay pensions, and medical assistance that has been cut 
see our latest bulletin on the social situation. The Bougival document 
was intended to be a draft to be discussed further within each signatory 
organization, but the State and the colonial right wing quickly 
presented it as a definitive agreement. The FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist 
National Liberation Front) withdrew its signature in August and is 
mobilizing for the total rejection of this draft agreement  as is a 
large majority of the independence movement (including the USTKE trade 
union). A supplement was signed on January 19, 2026, to postpone the 
planned timetable. And a bill has been introduced by the government to 
enshrine this draft agreement in the constitution. It was adopted by the 
Senate on February 14th and will be presented to the National Assembly 
on March 24th for a vote on March 30th  the goal being to convene the 
Congress of Versailles and hold a referendum on the acceptance of Kanaky 
by Bougival at the end of April 2026. The timeline is tight for 
independence, as France wants to maintain a strategic foothold in the 
South Pacific, with accelerated militarization along the Indo-Pacific axis.

The independence movement is mobilizing, and so are we here. A national 
demonstration is planned for March 21st. And we will continue to 
reiterate: the political situation cannot be separated from the 
situation of Kanak youth who face discrimination, whether in terms of 
employment or education, nor from a colonial justice system that 
continues to imprison them.

Julie, from Solidarité Kanaky,
March 20, 2026

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4679
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