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.