Christian Tein, leader of the New Caledonian independence group “CCAT cell,” will be detained in mainland France after being charged on Saturday in connection with violent protests on the island territory, according to local media and statements from his lawyer to the press.
Tein will be transferred almost 17,000 kilometers (10,500 miles) to France from New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific about 1,500 kilometers east of Australia. Pierre Ortet, Tein’s lawyer, expressed shock over the decision to send his client to a prison in Mulhouse, which is in eastern France. Additionally, the CCAT cell’s Communications Head, Brenda Wanabo, will be detained in Dijon, France. Wanabo’s representative, Thomas Gruet, criticized the legal proceedings as politically motivated. The detainment of Tein and Wanabo marks an unprecedented legal action for the French Pacific territory.
The specific charges against Tein and Wanabo are yet to be disclosed, but they involve armed robbery and complicity in murder or attempted murder, according to Noumea Chief Prosecutor Yves Dupas. Police in New Caledonia arrested eleven pro-independence activists on Wednesday, including Tein. Dupas said these arrests were part of an investigation into alleged organized crime involving armed robbery and complicity in murder or attempted murder. The detainees were placed under police custody for up to 96 hours.
The CCAT cell is the abbreviated title of the pro-independence party “La Cellule de Coordination des Actions de Terrain.” The CCAT cell is part of the larger pro-independence group “the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front,” best known as the FLNKS group.
The unrest in New Caledonia is in response to the proposed constitutional amendment by France’s National Assembly that aimed to allow French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years to vote in local elections. Currently, the 1998 electoral system restricts voting rights to natives and those who moved to New Caledonia before the 1998 Nouméa Accord, along with their descendants. Pro-independence groups like the CCAT cell contest this change because they fear it will further marginalize the indigenous Kanak people, who have already suffered discrimination during colonization. New Caledonia has been under French control since the 1850s.
French President Emmanuel Macron declared a state of emergency in May 17. Since then, there have been nine deaths, including two police officers, as well as property damage and looting. Macron visited New Caledonia on June 13 and subsequently suspended the bill containing the proposed reforms.
