Overview

• Valls held a closed-door meeting of two and a half hours with an FLNKS delegation that declined comment and said it must brief leader Christian Tein, who is under judicial control and barred from staying in New Caledonia.
• In remarks to the Sénat coutumier earlier in the day, Valls called the Bougival text a “historic opportunity” and said he saw no credible alternative.
• The FLNKS issued a communiqué criticizing what it called the State’s “lessons of responsibility” and accusing the minister of seeking a show of force, arguing the territory is on life support and inequalities have deepened.
• The agreement signed on July 12 proposes a State of New Caledonia with its own nationality and potential sovereign competencies while remaining anchored in the French Constitution.
• The text is backed by non‑independence parties, Eveil océanien, Palika and UPM, as Valls warns that without an accord nickel buyers will not return, healthcare shortages will persist, and inequalities will worsen.