New Caledonia marks anniversary of French colonization with tight security and simmering tensions

NOUMEA, New Caledonia (AP) — New Caledonia marked the anniversary on Tuesday of France's takeover of the Pacific archipelago with tight security and simmering tensions between the pro-independence Indigenous Kanak people and the white settler communities loyal to Paris.

The 171st anniversary of the French colonization of New Caledonia, which is east of Australia and 10 time zones ahead of Paris, comes four months after protests by Kanaks against French President Emmanuel Macron’ s voting reforms in New Caledonia turned violent, leaving 13 people dead and widespread destruction.

The violence on the archipelago of about 270,000 people widened the gap between communities that have long faced an existential dilemma over New Caledonia's status within France. At least 6,000 police officers have been deployed in and around the capital, Noumea, since unrest started in May. On Tuesday, security forces were on high alert to prevent any violence during the Sept. 24 anniversary, a public holiday known as Citizenship Day.

It marks the day in 1853 when French Admiral Auguste Febvrier-Despointes declared French sovereignty over New Caledonia in the name of Emperor Napoleon III, Napoleon’s nephew and heir. It became an overseas territory after World War II, with French citizenship granted to all Kanaks in 1957.

Underlining how far apart the communities stand on the territory's future, the loyalists in Noumea on Tuesday celebrated New Caledonia's French identity, waving national flags, honking car horns to the sounds of the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, and other patriotic songs, blasting from a radio broadcast, and vehicles carrying police officers and firefighters joining in.

For the Indigenous people, who once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination, Sept. 24 is a reminder to continue their struggle for independence. The National Council of Chiefs of the Kanak people was meeting on Mare Island, across from Noumea, and was expected to unilaterally declare sovereignty over the Kanak nation on their customary territories.

In Paris, New Caledonia's pro-independence Kanak lawmaker, Emmanuel Tjibaou, hailed people in his faraway homeland for “peacefully marking this Citizenship Day" and showing that “we stand steadfast in our fight for dignity ... that is non-negotiable," he said in a social media post.

Nicolas Metzdorf, New Caledonia’s loyalist lawmaker, was beaming with pride over the Pacific archipelago's French identity and vowed that his supporters have every intention of keeping the territory a part of France.

On Citizenship Day, New Caledonia “celebrates our attachment to France,” Metzdorf said. “It's a celebration of all citizens, including those who are still excluded from voting,” he said in reference to those residents, who have recently settled in the archipelago but can't vote in local elections in line with the 1998 Noumea Accord that gives New Caledonia more political power and broader autonomy.

In the spring, Macron rushed a bill through Parliament aimed at amending France’s constitution and changing the electoral register in New Caledonia to grant voting rights to residents who have settled there in the last decade, leaving the Indigenous people in fear of further erosion of their rights and erasure of their identity.

The adoption of the controversial bill by both houses of the French Parliament in May led to mass demonstrations that turned violent, prompting Macron to declare a state of emergency and fly thousands of police and army reinforcements to the faraway territory. Thirteen people, mostly Kanaks, and two police officers were killed and nearly 3,000 people have been arrested.

Among those detained in broad police raids were 11 Kanak activists with the pro-independence group known as The Field Action Coordination Unit, which has organized protests against French rule since April. Seven of the detained activists, including Christian Tein, a Kanak leader, were flown 17,000 kilometers (10,500 miles) away from home to seven prisons in mainland France for pretrial detention.

Macron sidelined the controversial voting reform in June after he dissolved Parliament and called early legislative elections.

France held three referendums in New Caledonia on independence between 2018 and 2021 as part of an agreement known as the Noumea Accords that followed a 1988 peace deal that ended violence between rival factions.

A majority of voters chose to remain part of France instead of backing independence. The pro-independence Kanak people rejected the results of the last referendum in 2021, which they boycotted because it was held at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that severely affected the Kanak community.

Associated Press writer Barbara Surk in Nice, France, contributed to this report.

Indigenous Kanaks wave independent flags during the 171th anniversary of France's takeover of the Pacific Archipelago, in Noumea, New Caledonia, French Pacific islands, Tuesday Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Charlotte Antoine-Perron)

Indigenous Kanaks hold independent flags as they gather near the Field Action Coordination Unit building during the 171th anniversary of France's takeover of the Pacific Archipelago, in Noumea, New Caledonia, French Pacific islands, Tuesday Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Charlotte Antoine-Perron)

A pro-loyalist barricade with French flags is photographed during the anniv 171th anniversary of France's takeover of the Pacific Archipelago, in Noumea, New Caledonia, French Pacific islands, Tuesday Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Charlotte Antoine-Perron)

An indigenous Kanak holds the independent flag during the 171th anniversary of France's takeover of the Pacific Archipelago, in Noumea, New Caledonia, French Pacific islands, Tuesday Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Charlotte Antoine-Perron)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Democrat Xavier Becerra advanced to the general election for California governor Friday after pitching himself as an experienced choice to lead the nation’s most populous state and succeed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Becerra leaned on his more than 35 years in public office — including as state attorney general and U.S. health secretary — to argue that he was the most qualified candidate in a crowded field.

“The people of the great state of California, in the greatest nation on earth, have spoken — loudly and proudly,” Becerra said in a statement. “We are never backing down. November, here we come.”

It was not yet clear who Becerra will face in the general election. His top rivals came down to Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator backed by President Donald Trump, and Democrat Tom Steyer, a billionaire climate activist who poured $215 million of his own money into his campaign.

Born and raised in Sacramento by Mexican immigrant parents, Becerra has a wife and three daughters. He has said his family’s immigrant background mirrored his “underdog” gubernatorial campaign, in which he initially failed to garner substantial support before surging in the final months.

After one of the top Democratic contenders, Rep. Eric Swalwell, was accused of sexual assault and dropped out of the race, Becerra benefited from an opening to coalesce Democratic support. He quickly racked up key endorsements from labor groups and Latino legislative leaders.

Becerra has vowed to maintain the state’s mantle as a chief antagonist to President Donald Trump. As attorney general he filed more than 120 legal actions against the first Trump administration on everything from immigration to climate policy.

The president has also been in a spat with the state over its drawn-out vote count. Trump made baseless claims mass fraud Thursday, and on Friday federal prosecutors said they opened investigations into allegations of election fraud. Hilton called for California to limit mail ballots to those who request them, rather sending them to all registered voters.

During the campaign Becerra's rivals scrutinized his leadership as health secretary during the COVID-19 pandemic and unaccompanied migrant children crisis in 2021, when Becerra’s Department of Health and Human Services was responsible for shelters where they were housed. Some of them were criticized as having inadequate living conditions, and there were also concerns about authorities failing to thoroughly vet sponsors with whom some children were placed.

If elected, Becerra said, he would declare states of emergency to address high energy costs and housing shortages and to freeze home insurance rates.

Though California is one of the nation’s most diverse states, almost all its governors have been white men. Becerra would be the first Latino to hold the office since the late 1800s.

Newsom was barred by term limits from seeking a third stint in office.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer speaks during his election night watch party in San Francisco on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton speaks during an election night event Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Huntington Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra speaks during an election night event Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)