Kids food ad ban closer to becoming reality in Canada: ReportAs the year winds down, IMOLEAYO OYEDEYI captures some of the most dominant events that shaped political discourse and challenged the effectiveness of government policies for the masses Ibadan Explosion A series of explosions in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, shattered the early excitement of 2024, raising concerns about the escalating menace of illegal mining across the country. The blasts, which dominated public discourse for weeks, claimed two lives, injured several others, and caused widespread destruction of property. The explosions tore off rooftops and shattered windows, leaving many homeless for days and prompting costly government rescue operations. Binance Executive Detention In February, one of the most contentious issues in the country was the arrest and detention of Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, on charges of money laundering and operating without a licence. However, his detention was short-lived, as he was eventually released due to deteriorating health and diplomatic interventions. Kano Emirate Tussle The first half of the year witnessed significant political drama in Kano, triggered by the state assembly’s repeal of the law that had divided the city into five emirates. Governor Abba Yusuf swiftly signed a new law, resulting in the removal of five prominent emirs: Aminu Ado Bayero of Kano, Nasir Ado Bayero of Bichi, Kabiru Muhammad Inuwa of Rano, Ibrahim Abubakar II of Karaye, and Aliyu Ibrahim Abdulkadir of Gaya. In a dramatic turn of events, former Central Bank Governor, Muhammadu Sanusi, who had been dethroned by the previous administration, was reinstated. However, Ado Bayero rejected the decision and moved to the Nasarawa palace. The two emirs, locked in a parallel leadership battle, continue to fuel tensions in Kano, making the emirate tussle one of the year’s most prominent issues. Cabinet reshuffle Amid months of intense speculation, President Bola Tinubu enacted a significant reshuffle of his 45-member cabinet on October 23, appointing seven new ministers, dismissing five, and reassigning 10 others to new roles. Notably, the ministers of finance, defence, and national planning, and two junior energy ministers retained their positions. The reshuffle also saw the Ministry of Niger Delta Development renamed the Ministry of Regional Development, the Ministry of Sports dissolved, and the Ministries of Tourism and Arts and Culture merged. The reshuffle sparked mixed reactions across Nigeria, with many questioning why some underperforming ministers were retained while others were dismissed. The public discourse surrounding these changes made it one of the year’s most debated political topics. Tax Reform Controversy Since Tinubu introduced his tax reform bills to the National Assembly in October, the proposals have become a major point of contention. The bills—comprising the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, the Nigerian Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, and the Nigeria Tax Bill—have sparked nationwide debate. Supporters argue that the reforms will ease the tax burden on 90 per cent of Nigerian workers, streamline tax procedures, support small businesses, and enhance tax collection efficiency. However, opposition from Northern lawmakers and leaders, including Senator Ali Ndume and Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum, has been vocal. Critics contend that the bills could disrupt business operations and negatively impact state government revenue, particularly in the Northern region. National Grid Collapses A persistent issue throughout 2024 was the frequent collapse of the national grid, occurring no fewer than 12 times. These grid failures caused widespread blackouts across some of Nigeria’s largest cities, including Abuja, Lagos, and Kano, severely disrupting daily life and economic activities. The outages paralysed businesses in affected regions, resulting in staggering financial losses. Northern electricity distribution companies alone reported losses exceeding N74 billion, underscoring the urgent need for reforms in the country’s power sector. Prison Break in Suleja On the night of Wednesday, April 24, 2024, a heavy downpour flooded the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Suleja, Niger State, sparking a dramatic prison break. The flood destroyed critical sections of the facility, including its perimeter fence, enabling the escape of 118 inmates. Although authorities later reported recapturing some fugitives, the incident raised serious concerns about prison security and disaster preparedness in Nigeria. The escape dominated the news for weeks, with many calling for urgent reforms in the country’s correctional system. Flooding in Northern Nigeria/Alau Dam Collapse A major humanitarian disaster in 2024 was the collapse of the Alau Dam in Borno State. On September 10, the dam’s embankment gave way, releasing an overwhelming 112 billion litres of water into low-lying areas in the Maiduguri metropolis and Jere Local Government Area. The resulting flood submerged entire towns and villages, displacing over one million people and affecting 414,000 residents. The catastrophe left hundreds homeless, prompting widespread sympathy and a swift response. Business tycoons and state governors donated over N13 billion to aid flood victims, highlighting the disaster’s devastating impact. Ondo and Edo Governorship Elections The off-cycle governorship elections in Ondo and Edo States were among the year’s most significant political events. In both contests, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared candidates from the All Progressives Congress—Lucky Aiyedatiwa in Ondo and Monday Okpebholo in Edo—as winners. In Ondo, Aiyedatiwa secured 366,781 votes, defeating the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Agboola Ajayi, who polled 117,845 votes. Similarly, in Edo, Okpebholo garnered 291,667 votes to beat PDP’s Asue Ighodalo, who received 247,274 votes. However, the opposition rejected the results, citing allegations of widespread electoral fraud. Both cases are now before election petition tribunals, with hearings expected to gain momentum in the early part of 2025. #EndBadGovernance protest One of the most defining events of the outgoing year was the eruption of the #EndBadGovernance protests, also known as #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria. Between August 1 and 10, thousands of young Nigerians, frustrated by the soaring cost of living, took to the streets in mass demonstrations across all six geopolitical zones of the country. The protests quickly became a focal point in national discourse as they were met with brutal repression. Scores of protesters were killed, and over 1,000 were arrested across major protest grounds in cities such as Abuja, Lagos, Niger, Kano, Kaduna, and Katsina. These demonstrations marked one of the most significant political movements of the year. Detention of minors over protest A controversial event that dominated political discourse this year was the arraignment of at least 76 detained #EndBadGovernance protesters at the Federal High Court in Abuja. They faced ten counts of charges related to alleged treason and conspiracy to destabilise Nigeria, contrary to sections 96 and 97 of the Penal Code Act. Among those detained were 32 minors, aged between 14 and 17. Their court arraignment sparked nationwide outrage, especially when national television broadcasts showed clips of the minors, appearing malnourished and sickly, writhing in pain on the floor of the courtroom. Four of the minors collapsed before proceedings began, further igniting public anger. Amid growing controversy, the court eventually granted the minors bail at N10m each, with stringent conditions. The Arewa Consultative Forum condemned the Federal Government for its treatment of the minors, calling the trial a blatant attempt to intimidate citizens and stifle their constitutional rights to protest and voice grievances. Rise in killings, kidnappings, and terror attacks Year 2024 saw a chilling rise in cases of kidnappings, banditry, killings, and terror attacks across Nigeria, making it one of the deadliest years in recent memory. From mass kidnappings to village assaults, the year was marked by shocking brutality. High-profile kidnappings included the abduction of at least 61 people from Kajuru village in Kaduna State by bandits disguised in military uniforms on March 12, and the kidnapping of 80 people, mostly women and children, by bandits in Zamfara State on April 19. In a particularly brutal attack on May 24, suspected Boko Haram militants abducted 160 people in Kuchi village, Niger State, while at least 100 more were kidnapped in Maidabino village, Katsina State, on June 22. Related News Iconic moments of 2024 in style Falana blames Police for deaths in stampedes across Nigeria Stampedes won’t halt palliative distribution – FG The year also witnessed some of the most horrific fatal attacks. Bandits killed 40 people during an assault on Zurak village, Plateau State, on May 24. On the same day, Boko Haram terrorists killed 10 people in Kuchi village. A few weeks later, on June 10, unknown gunmen killed at least 50 residents of Yargoje village in Katsina State. The killing spree reached a devastating peak on March 14, when 17 Nigerian Army officers were massacred during a peace-keeping mission in Okuama, Delta State. Among the fallen were the Commanding Officer of the 181 Amphibious Battalion, Lt Col Ah Ali, and several other military personnel. Students were also not spared, as the year saw numerous abductions. Nine students from the Confluence University of Science and Technology in Osara, Kogi State, were abducted on May 10, and 20 medical and dental students were taken from Otukpo, Benue State, on August 15. Northern Nigeria, especially Borno and Zamfara States, endured a wave of bombings that left over 18 people dead and more than 30 injured in different explosions. In response, the military launched major counter-terrorism operations. On May 21, Nigerian troops rescued 350 Boko Haram hostages, primarily women and children, from the Sambisa Forest in Borno State. Additionally, 974 terrorists were killed, 466 hostages were freed, and 1,157 terrorists from Boko Haram and ISWAP surrendered in February. Spiking inflation, naira devaluation, and CBN interest rate hikes A persistent trend throughout the outgoing year was the alarming spike in both nominal and food inflation, which stood at 34.60 per cent and 39.93 per cent respectively in November. The surge in inflation was largely driven by the soaring cost of food, which placed an immense strain on Nigerian households across the country. Similarly, the Naira endured frequent devaluations, becoming the third most devalued currency in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024. According to the Dataviz Economic Explorer, from November 2023 to November 2024, the naira depreciated by a staggering 51.79 per cent against the US dollar, based on the official exchange rate. This devaluation significantly increased Nigeria’s external debt, which rose by approximately N30.03 trillion from 2023 to June 2024 when evaluated in Naira terms. In response to this economic turmoil and to combat the mounting inflation, the Central Bank of Nigeria raised the interest rate six times throughout the year, eventually placing it at 27.25 per cent. This represented a cumulative increase of 875 basis points by November. National Anthem Change On May 29, Tinubu signed into law a controversial change to Nigeria’s national anthem, returning to the old version titled “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” which had been in use since the country’s independence in 1960. This replaced the version “Arise, O Compatriots,” which had been adopted in 1978. The decision to revert to the old anthem sparked mixed reactions across the country, particularly due to the swift pace at which the legislation was debated and passed by the National Assembly. The lawmakers’ performance further fueled public debate when they sang the chorus “On your mandate we shall stand” in unison before the president in the Red Chamber, intensifying perceptions of their rubber-stamp nature. Bobrisky and Simon Ekpa’s detention One of the year’s most talked-about stories centred on the imprisonment of controversial social media personality and cross-dresser, Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, as well as pro-Biafran activist, Simon Ekpa. Bobrisky’s trouble began on April 3, 2024, when he was arrested and detained by the Lagos Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. He faced accusations of mutilating naira notes worth N490,000 and engaging in money laundering. This arrest followed the viral circulation of a video showing Bobrisky spraying naira notes at the premiere of the movie Ajakaju at Film One Circle Mall in Lekki, Lagos, on March 24, 2024. After being arraigned on six counts at the Federal High Court in Lagos, Bobrisky was sentenced to six months in prison without the option of a fine for abuse of the naira. However, his imprisonment became even more controversial when, upon his release on August 5, he appeared at a celebratory party just hours after walking out of jail. Many Nigerians were shocked to see him looking more radiant than ever, sparking suspicions about whether he had truly served his time in a custodial facility. This episode spiralled into heated exchanges involving Bobrisky, social media activist Martins Otse (also known as VeryDarkMan), the EFCC, and renowned lawyer Femi Falana over allegations of unpaid debts. This saga remained one of the year’s most divisive topics. In another high-profile case, Simon Ekpa was arrested on November 21 in Finland, alongside four others, on charges related to terrorism, including inciting violence and financing terrorism. According to Finnish media outlet Yle, Ekpa was remanded in custody by the Päijät-Häme District Court, facing charges of incitement to commit crimes with terrorist intent. He was accused of orchestrating violent actions in Nigeria’s South-East region through social media from Finland. The Federal Government sought Ekpa’s extradition to Nigeria, but the Finnish District Court has set May 2025 for the hearing of his case. Dele Farotimi and Afe Babalola saga The dramatic feud between elder statesman Chief Afe Babalola and civil rights activist Mr Dele Farotimi dominated national discourse in the outgoing year. Babalola took Farotimi to court in both the Federal High Court in Ekiti State and the Ekiti State Magistrate Court, accusing him of defamation and cyberbullying. The revered legal icon claimed that Farotimi had besmirched his character in his book Nigeria’s Criminal Justice System. The case sparked widespread public outrage, with many questioning why Farotimi was being prosecuted in Ekiti, rather than Lagos, where he resides. The Ekiti Magistrate Court eventually granted Farotimi bail in the sum of N30m, with two sureties, but the controversy surrounding the trial continued to fuel heated debates across the nation. Fatal stampedes In just four days, a series of tragic stampedes across Nigeria claimed the lives of at least 70 people in Ibadan (Oyo State), Okija (Anambra), and Abuja. These fatal incidents sparked political outrage, with opposition parties accusing the current administration of failing its citizens. They described the stampedes as glaring signs of leadership failures and widespread poverty, drawing further attention to the nation’s deepening socio-economic crisis. Labour Unions Strike In June, the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) declared a nationwide strike due to the government’s failure to raise the federal minimum wage following an increase in electricity tariffs. The unions demanded an increase in the national minimum wage from 30,000 naira to 494,000 naira, but the presidency dismissed these demands as “unreasonable.” The strike dominated national discourse for weeks, plunging the country into darkness as union workers shut down the national grid and the nation’s power supply, according to the Transmission Company of Nigeria. However, after a prolonged battle, both the labour leadership and the Federal Government reached an agreement on a N70,000 national minimum wage. Opposition Verbal War with APC Over 2027 Presidency Another major issue in the outgoing year was the series of verbal clashes between the All Progressives Congress and opposition parties, particularly the Peoples Democratic Party, regarding the 2027 presidency. The verbal war began when the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr. George Akume, declared that there would be no vacancy in the presidential villa in 2027, claiming that the current administration had exceeded expectations. In response, the PDP and prominent Northern politicians, such as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, condemned Akume’s assertion, arguing that the poor performance of President Tinubu’s administration would lead to its ousting in the next presidential election. Miss Universe Nigeria In August, Chidimma Adetshina, who represented Taraba State, was crowned Miss Universe Nigeria 2024. Her journey to the title was considered remarkable by many Nigerians, reflecting resilience and grace, reminiscent of the Miss Universe South Africa incident, where she was disqualified. While she will be representing Nigeria on the global stage in Mexico, her victory was undoubtedly one of the most talked-about events of the outgoing year.The Secret Transformation of TSM: Beyond Gaming? Discover Their Pre-Market Move

A world-renowned Haida artist and avid supporter of the victims of war in Ukraine, is pitching his talents to a Victoria non-profit that provides life-changing prosthetics. Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas is the only living Indigenous artist whose work is in the permanent collection of the Modern and Contemporary Art Department at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. His works are also in the collections of the British Museum, Denver Art Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Vancouver Art Gallery and Museum of Anthropology at UBC. Originally scheduled to have an art show at the TSEKH Art Gallery in Kyiv, Ukraine in the fall of 2021, Nicoll Yahgulanaas is instead using his art to raise funds and awareness for the war-torn country. One of the works that would have been displayed is called Kyiv Child, created after visiting Ukraine in 2019. “I made many friends on that trip, and now they are huddling in basements, holding their children close. They worry about food, water, and Putin's indiscriminate bombing of civilians,” Nicoll Yahgulanaas said in a statement. Yahgulanaas has raised $75,000 so far for Ukraine aid through Unicef and MSF, and the latest campaign targets $25,000 for the Victoria Hand Project. From a small lab at the University of Victoria, The Victoria Hand Project harnesses 3D printing technology to create life-altering prosthetics. The charity strives to empower individuals worldwide, particularly where accessing prosthetics is challenging. By offering affordable and sustainable solutions, they restore independence, hope, and dignity to those who have lost mobility due to limb loss. CEO Michael Peirone is grateful that the B.C. artist opted to share his talents with the Saanich-based project. Malaspina Printmakers in Vancouver is covering the costs to create the high-quality prints of Yahgulanaas’s work available for $700 . Other donors and supporters mean the funds are 100 per cent proceeds. Each print sale, $700, would essentially cover the costs associated with a prosthetic in Ukraine, Peirone told the Saanich News. “Unfortunately from what we’ve heard from partners on the ground working in Ukraine there is such a need for prosthetic care and the resources aren’t available,” he said. “The waitlists are growing, with people who have been waiting six months to a year after losing an arm defending their country. “Even if the war ended right this moment – and we wish it would – there’s still a great need for prosthetic care.” Three Victoria Hand Project team members travelled to Ukraine in June 2023 to train locals and set up two clinics for the organization’s usual in-country solution. “That helps with the long-term sustainability and decreases wait times. Also, we found it really fosters a sense of pride in the community,” Peirone said. The non-profit has made several in-person trips there, creating fast and affordable prosthetic limb production. The organization has already provided more than 110 prosthetics for Ukrainians. Get prints online at . It's one campaign among several underway at the Victoria Hand Project. A Giving Tuesday event (internationally recognized as Dec. 3) aims to raise $50,000 focused on providing prosthetic arms in Ukraine. An evening of Impact features a silent auction, compelling personal stories and food and beverages. Learn more about the initiative, purchase tickets or donate online at .

Aboriginal digital ID offers Indigenous Australians pathway to essential services

[Source: Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection - Fiji/ Facebook] For the first time, women from the villages of Nuku, Cakova, Keteira and Maloku met in Naroi, Moala, for a Women’s Mini Craft Show, organized by the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection. The event, which aimed to promote creativity and economic empowerment, showcased a wide range of handmade products, including fine mats, iTaukei clothing including sulu and jaba, and fresh vegetables. The show provided a platform for the women to display their talents and express their entrepreneurial spirit. The event was more than just an exhibition; it offered participants the opportunity to exchange ideas, learn new skills and to strengthen their networks. The diverse array of products, from traditional Fijian garments to unique handmade crafts and locally grown produce, showcased the resourcefulness and creativity of rural women who often face limited access to larger markets. President of the Maloku Women’s Group, Kalo Leba, described how the women of Maloku had prepared for the event by waking up early, organizing their families and making their way to Naroi to showcase their handicrafts. The Maloku Women’s Group presented a range of products including fashionable sulu and jaba and honey, marking an opportunity to generate income and gain recognition for their hard work.By Nic Maclellan A no-confidence motion in the French National Assembly has ousted the government led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier. But for New Caledonians, still reeling from the economic, cultural and social impacts of six months of conflict this year, the collapse of the Barnier government raises concern about future support from Paris. A long-serving conservative politician and former diplomat, Barnier was appointed as a Prime Minister in September by French President Emmanuel Macron, following the defeat of the presidential majority in July’s snap elections for the National Assembly. From months, Macron had delayed appointing a prime minister, given his Ensemble alliance lacked the numbers to maintain a governing majority in the French legislature. Refusing to appoint a candidate from the Left-wing political alliance Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) – even though it was the largest parliamentary group – Macron finally chose Barnier to lead the government, even though he was a member of the conservative Rassemblement party, which came fourth in the elections! At the time, Barnier’s appointment was welcomed by New Caledonian anti-independence parties, given his past support for the Pacific dependency to remain within the French Republic. Over the last few months, however, business leaders and politicians across the political spectrum in Noumea have been increasingly worried by the drift in French leadership. Since July, political and community leaders in Noumea have sought support from Paris for post-conflict reconstruction, after riots erupted on 13 May, followed by five months of clashes between Kanak activists and more than 6,000 French gendarmes, riot squads and anti-terrorist police, backed by armoured cars and military assistance. Initially, responding to the crisis was high on the Barnier government’s agenda. It formally abandoned Macron’s failed policy on electoral reform for New Caledonia’s local legislature (a constitutional amendment that triggered the riots in mid-May). Barnier deployed a series of diplomatic missions to Noumea, including Overseas Minister François-Noël Buffet, the president of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet and Senate president Gérard Larcher. His government adopted a more conciliatory tone towards the independence movement, seeking to re-start stalled negotiations on New Caledonia’s future political status. For the Government of New Caledonia, however, a central priority was to negotiate new funding in the French government’s 2025 budget to support economic reconstruction. The months of conflict had damaged local businesses, the tourism sector and the crucial nickel industry, one in six workers in the private sector have lost their jobs and many others survive on reduced hours. Under President Louis Mapou, New Caledonia’s government adopted a plan to stabilise the economy, transform the tax base, and support workers and employers battered by months of shutdown and conflict – but needed support from Paris to finance the transition over the next three years. Since Barnier took office, New Caledonian business and political leaders have travelled to Paris to lobby French politicians for extra funding in the 2025 national budget. President Mapou also flew to Paris in November, meeting with President Macron at the Elysee Palace to call for urgent action. However, after weeks of negotiations, Barnier couldn’t finalise a national budget for 2025. In office for only three months, Barnier’s government lacked the numbers to easily pass legislation. Trapped between the largest bloc in the National Assembly, the Left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire and the extreme right Rassemblement national, Barnier lacked the political authority to bang heads together. His decision to ram through changes to Social Security funding without a vote in the National Assembly was the final straw. On 4 December, a no confidence motion proposed by the NFP was backed by Rassemblement national, and 331 of 577 deputies in the National Assembly voted to bring down the government. Unlike most parliamentarians from France’s overseas colonies in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean, New Caledonia’s two deputies in the National Assembly did not vote in favour of the no-confidence motion. Loyalist politician Nicolas Metzdorf is a member of Macron’s presidential bloc and voted against the resolution. Speaking in Paris after the vote, Metzdorf said “we need to have a functioning government to discuss the future of New Caledonia, and we need to have economic and financial stability and support from the French State.” The other New Caledonian member of the French legislature is Emmanuel Tjibaou, newly elected as president of the largest pro-independence party Union Calédonienne (UC). Winning his seat in Paris last July, Tjibaou is the first pro-independence Kanak leader to serve in the National Assembly for 38 years. However, on Wednesday he was absent during the no-confidence vote, one of the few members of the Left who declined to vote for Barnier’s ousting. As UC president, Tjibaou continues to call for a pathway to sovereign independence. However, like his conservative colleague Metzdorf, Tjibaou has been working to gain extra economic assistance for New Caledonia, in preparation for planned discussions on a new political statute in 2025 (as he recently said “you can’t negotiate on an empty stomach”). In recent weeks, the New Caledonian parliamentarians have been successful in gaining pledges of extra support from Paris. The Barnier government committed financial assistance until the end of 2024 and included important provisions just for New Caledonia in the draft budget for 2025. Just before the no-confidence motion, the National Assembly passed a bill to continue funding for the 2024 financial year, including important commitments made by France’s Overseas Minister during his October visit to Noumea (additional loan guarantees; funding to rebuild schools, town halls and other public buildings damaged by arson or rioting over the last six months; financial subsidies to employers to retain workers who have lost full-time jobs). However, this month’s parliamentary no-confidence motion – the first in more than 60 years – blows the draft 2025 budget out of the water. Barnier has now formally resigned, with the dubious distinction that his 90-day tenure was the shortest period as prime minister since the French Fifth Republic was created in 1958. Funding for New Caledonia Before the vote on 4 December, Overseas Minister François-Noël Buffet acknowledged that the government had failed to lock in its pledges to New Caledonia. “We are in an extremely difficult situation,” he said. “The government had made commitments at the time of my visit to New Caledonia [last October] and they had to be translated into concrete terms in the budget.” In a statement, Buffet outlined the provisions that would lapse if the government lost office. The draft financial program for next year included: a loan guarantee of 1 billion euros to underwrite budgetary initiatives by the Government of New Caledonia; plans for tax incentives to encourage post-conflict investment in the islands; and legislation and funding to conduct a census next year (New Caledonia’s five-yearly census was last held in 2019 and was due this year, but could not proceed during the months of turmoil since May). Last month, the French Parliament deferred local elections in New Caledonia until November 2025, leaving the Mapou government in office until New Caledonian citizens can again vote for their three provincial assemblies and national Congress. The year-long delay is designed to give time for supporters and opponents of independence to negotiate a new political statute to replace the 1998 Noumea Accord. Now, the collapse of the French government and ongoing political uncertainty in Paris may delay the timing of crucial negotiations on New Caledonia’s future. For Loyalist leader Nicolas Metzdorf, the no-confidence motion “plunges France into a major political crisis at a time when New Caledonia needs stability more than ever. This vote, with serious consequences, comes while significant progress had been obtained within the framework of the finance bill for 2025.” On 11 December, the Congress of New Caledonia must now vote on legislation that would validate the loans and grants committed for 2024 worth 27 billion Pacific francs (AUD$350 million). Beyond this, prospects for next year are still uncertain. Macron’s folly On the night after the collapse of the Barnier government, French President Emmanuel Macron made a televised speech to the nation, pledging to appoint a new prime minister quickly. However, he showed no humility or acknowledgement of his own responsibility for the current crisis. Instead he thrust responsibility back to the parliament, suggesting they must finalise a new budget before Christmas: “It is necessary to have this budget at the very beginning of next year to allow the country to invest, as has been planned, in our armed forces, our court system, our law enforcement, but also to help our farmers in difficulty who were waiting for the budget, or to support New Caledonia.” Macron still has two years in office until the next presidential elections in 2027, but his capacity to drive politics and policy is diminished. Even as he struts the world stage as a statesman, he is on the nose with most French voters – one opinion poll taken after the no-confidence motion reported that 63% of French citizens want him to resign. The New Popular Front has called for Macron’s resignation, but – returning to Paris from a diplomatic visit to Saudi Arabia – Macron was defiant: “If I am here before you, it is because I was elected twice by the French people. I am extremely proud of this, and I will honour this trust with all the energy that is mine, until the last second, I can be useful to the country.” His political future remains uncertain however, given that many of the key players in the National Assembly also intend to run for the presidency in 2027, including Marine Le Pen of Rassemblement national (National Rally), Jean-Luc Mélenchon of La France Insoumise (France unbowed) and even Macron allies like Edouard Philippe, a former Prime Minister dumped in the 2021, or outgoing Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu. Widely seen as arrogant or out of touch, the French President has been criticised by his own supporters for last June’s decision to call snap elections, which left his parliamentary group without the numbers to pass legislation. After the collapse of the Barnier government, an editorial in Le Monde noted that “Macron is still paying for, and making the country pay for, his disastrous dissolution of the National Assembly in June, which resulted in no governing majority, three political blocs unable to agree, and the feeling amongst many voters that they had been democratically cheated during the interminable appointment of Prime Minister Barnier.” The leading newspaper argued “there is now a real risk that the political crisis will degenerate into an institutional crisis, given the high level of mistrust not only of the President but also of parliamentarians.” Macron’s misjudgement on domestic French politics echoes a series of policy blunders in recent years that have affected people in New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna and French Polynesia, even as the small island states try to deal with post-Covid debt, cost-of-living pressure, the climate emergency and growing US-China strategic competition. At the Pacific Islands Forum in Nuku’alofa last August, President of French Polynesia Moetai Brotherson told Islands Business that misjudged decisions taken by President Macron since 2021 had contributed to mid-May’s explosion of conflict in New Caledonia. “Unfortunately, all the events since 13 May were easy to foresee,” Brotherson said. “I’ve been telling France for three years now about the stepping stones that led to those events.” “First of all, the decision by the French State to maintain the third referendum on self-determination in December 2021, that was the first mistake. Then the nomination of [Loyalist leader] Madame Backès as Secretary of State for Citizenship – that was a huge mistake, because it was the first time that the French State was clearly no longer respecting the neutral position that was their position since the [1998 Noumea] Accord.” Brotherson noted that President Macron’s attempt to ram through electoral reforms for New Caledonia – without a local consensus – added to this breakdown of trust between independence supporters and the French State: “The third and major mistake was this push around modification of the voting constituency in New Caledonia, and that was a major mistake, especially in the light of dissolving the French National Assembly right after creating all this havoc!” So, what comes next? Michel Barnier will remain as caretaker leader until President Macron can appoint a successor (who will become the fifth prime minister the French leader has churned through since his re-election in 2022). Macron may now seek to split the Left’s New Popular Front, offering the prime minister’s job to a politician from the Socialist Party or Greens, while isolating Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise. However, whoever takes up this poisoned chalice will not have a governing majority in the parliament, Macron cannot call new parliamentary elections until July 2025 (after calling snap elections last June, the law requires him to wait a year before he can dissolve the legislature again). When Barnier first took office three months ago, a Le Monde editorial on New Caledonia said that “France has a duty there to achieve what it has so often failed to do in the past: decolonisation.” That remains the challenge for France’s next Prime Minister. Many independence supporters will be reaffirmed in their belief that it’s time to move on from the French colonial empire, as an independent nation.... PACNEWS/ISLANDS BUSINESS