Power, pacification and legacies of French colonialism in New Caledonia: public statues and Nouméa’s memoryscape

ABSTRACT

In June 2022 a new public statue was unveiled in New Caledonia. The new statue, erected in the Place des Cocotiers in central Nouméa, depicts the famous handshake between Kanak separatist leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou and loyalist Caldoche leader Jacques Lafleur that had sealed the French-brokered Matignon Accords, bringing years of violent conflict between Indigenous and settler communities to a close. The inauguration of the new monument, 34 years to the day since the signing of the agreement, comes at a time of considerable uncertainty in terms of New Caledonia’s relationship to France. In some ways, the monument’s appearance signals a major shift in the memoryscape of the archipelago generally and Nouméa in particular. But at the same time, the new statue is less progressive than it might at first appear. Indeed, its significance rests not only in what it represents but also in what it effectively obscures. This article offers an account and analysis of the erection of the new Tjibaou–Lafleur statue, positioning the monument both within a historical context of public statuary in New Caledonia and the contemporary context of evolving relations between Kanak and non-indigenous populations.

RÉSUMÉ

En juin 2022, un nouveau monument a été inauguré en Nouvelle-Calédonie. La nouvelle statue, érigée sur la place des Cocotiers dans le centre-ville de Nouméa, représente la célèbre poignée de main entre Jean-Marie Tjibaou (chef du bloc kanak en faveur du séparatisme) et Jacques Lafleur (chef du bloc caldoche contre l’indépendance), qui en 1988 avait scellé les accords de Matignon négociés par la France, aidant à résoudre des années de conflit violent entre les communautés Kanak et non-Kanak. L’inauguration du nouveau monument, 34 ans jour pour jour depuis la signature de l’accord, intervient à un moment d’incertitude profonde en ce qui concerne les relations entre la Nouvelle-Calédonie et la France. D’une certaine manière, l’apparition du monument signale une transformation majeure dans le paysage mémoriel de l’archipel en général et de Nouméa en particulier. Mais en même temps, la nouvelle statue est moins progressiste qu’il n’y paraît à première vue ; sa signification ne réside pas seulement dans ce qu’elle représente mais aussi dans ce qu’elle occulte. Cet article analyse le contexte autour de l’érection de la nouvelle statue. Il localise le monument dans un contexte plus large de l’histoire coloniale de la statuaire publique en Nouvelle-Calédonie et le met dans son contexte contemporain d’évolution des rapports entre les populations kanak et non-kanak.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the editors of this special issue, Hannah Grayson and Nina Parish, as well as the two anonymous peer reviewers for their insightful comments. She also extends thanks to Elizabeth Rechniewski, Charlotte Ann Legg, Nic Maclellan, James Keating, Sophie Loy-Wilson, Robert Aldrich, Sophie Fuggle and Christophe Dervieux. Special thanks are particularly owed to Céline Favre for her generous archival expertise, assisting in the sourcing of many of the images reproduced in this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Numèè is one of the Kanak languages of the Drubéa-Kapumë customary area which includes Nouméa.

2. FLNKS leaders, supported by scores of international scholars, who wanted the vote postponed out of respect for Kanak mourning traditions following a significant outbreak of COVID-19 which had claimed hundreds of lives (Collectif 2021). On challenges to the referendum’s legitimacy, see Roux 2021.

3. The assembly of the various traditional Kanak councils, with jurisdiction over legislative bills relating to Kanak identity.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was received for this work.