Caledonian internal politics are often difficult to understand for outsiders. Caledonia resembles its Pacific neighbours in this respect. The non-independents are not united in this year’s presidential elections (10 and 24 April). They support… five candidates.

Thus, the Avenir en Confiance (AEC), the ruling coalition in the South, is defending Emmanuel Macron, the current president. The leader of the party is Sonia Backès, who is president of the South Province. Despite past conflicts, she is in agreement on this issue with Calédonie Ensemble (CE), the non-independence party that she ousted from power three years ago.

Zémmour, Le Pen, Pecresse

In her own party, there are also defenders of the other candidates. Thus an elected member of the AEC, Brieux Frogier, has chosen to support the extreme right-wing Eric Zémmour. He is accompanied by the former Kanak senator, Simon Loueckhote. Another elected member of the AEC, Guy-Olivier Cuénot, is defending the candidacy of the leader of the French extreme right, Marine Le Pen. The right-wing party, Les Républicains, is also part of the AEC. The former party of leader Jacques Lafleur has decided to support Valérie Pécresse. She is the candidate of the party of several former presidents of the Republic (Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy). The small far-right candidate, Nicolas Dupont-Aignant (debout la France), is supported by one of the leaders of the anti-vax movement.