Today in Labor History May 29, 1830: Anarchist school teacher Louise Michel was born. Also known as the Red Virgin, she was a leader of the Paris Commune. During the Bloody Week, the authorities executed 30,000 men, women and children. They forced Michel to turn herself in by threatening to kill her mother, then deported her to New Caledonia, where she taught both the children of colonists and the indigenous people of New Caledonia. Her struggle against French colonialism and her support for the indigenous people is remembered today in their local museum of anarchism.
In 1880, the French gave amnesty to commune prisoners and allowed her back into the country. Many of those prisoners could not find work and were starving. She helped set up soup kitchens to feed them and devoted herself to writing about strikes and worker protests. On Mach 9, 1883, she led a demonstration through Paris. During the march, starving workers looted bakeries and stole bread. They arrested Michel and sentenced her to six years solitary confinement. Two years after being released, a would-be assassin shot her behind her ear. During the trial, she defended the would-be assassin, arguing that he had been misled by an evil society. She died on January 9, 1905.
#France admits it’s lost control of parts of #NewCaledonia, the world’s third-largest producer of critical EV metal nickel
The French government is moving to regain full control of the Pacific territory of New Caledonia, High Commissioner Louis Le Franc said, as extra security forces arrive in the archipelago to end a week of violent protests by pro-independence groups.
Le Franc said new security deployments, after French President Emmanuel Macron’s government declared a state of emergency, would help reassert control following violence that left behind burned cars, torched stores and improvised barricades along roads.
PS. It's truly disgusting to see them refer to a country only based on their export./Farhad
The Nouméa Accord was formally signed in May 1998, approved by referendum, and passed by both houses of the French National Assembly 1999. Among its provisions were a change of status from overseas territory to overseas country
#France declared a state of emergency on the Pacific island of #NewCaledonia after clashes broke out between authorities and pro-independence protesters. At least four people have already been killed. Three of whom were Indigenous people, and the fourth was a French gendarme.
Protesters have been seen carrying heavy firearms, with reports of live rounds being fired at police.
Multiple buildings have been set on fire, and several supermarkets have been looted. White French residents have also formed armed groups to confront the Indigenous protesters.
Under the state of emergency, French authorities have imposed a curfew, banned #TikTok, closed schools, and placed restrictions on movement.
They have also deployed an additional 500 police officers, adding to the 1,800 police and gendarmes already on the island.
Protests erupted after French President Emmanuel #Macron introduced plans to reform New Caledonia’s electoral system, which would grant more French residents in the territory voting rights. Protesters believe this would unfavorably shift political representation in the country. The Pacific archipelago, home to the Indigenous #Kanak people, is rich in minerals and has been under French control since 1853.
Pro-independence riots have broken out in New Caledonia
As a colony the island is a retreat for French citizens but with 'decolonization' only native Kanak people could vote, barring those arriving from France
Now Paris is empowering French residents to vote after only 10 years
The French Government is using it's army to quash indigenous locals who are rising up against the colonisers.
Authorities also decided to ban video app #TikTok, which the government during a bout of riots on France's mainland last summer said helped rioters organise and amplified the chaos, attracting troublemakers to the streets.
Rioting broke out over a bill adopted by the #FrenchParliament in #Paris on Tuesday that will let non-Caledonian French who have lived in #NewCaledonia for 10 years vote in #ProvincialElections – a move some local leaders say will dilute the indigenous #Kanak vote.
#FrenchPolice reinforcements have started arriving in New Caledonia as part of a massive operation to regain control of the capital #Noumea.
#Rioters angry with an #ElectoralReform have burnt businesses, torched cars, looted shops and set up road barricades over three days, cutting off access to medicine and food, authorities said.
#France’s government says it has no doubt that #Azerbaijan is stirring tensions in #NewCaledonia, despite the vast geographical and cultural distance between the Caspian country and the French Pacific territory.