Overview

• Christian Tein, president of the FLNKS, was ordered freed on June 12, 2025 after a year in provisional detention over the spring 2024 New Caledonia riots.
• Tein has consistently denied inciting violence, maintaining that his speeches were political and that he is being treated as a political prisoner.
• The court found no proof that Tein or his Cellule de coordination des actions de terrain group planned an armed uprising and released him under judicial supervision.
• The appeal judges also ordered the release of three other militants detained in connection with the unrest that left 14 people dead and caused over €2 billion in damage.
• More than 80 other Kanak detainees remain held in metropolitan France, and families are fundraising to cover travel and housing costs for their return.