News Digest: Unrest Continues in New Caledonia, Tax Return Deadlines & Happy Mother’s Day

The French overseas territory of New Caledonia has been gripped by violent protests and riots after French lawmakers approved a constitutional amendment in Paris last week. The amendment is designed to open up voting rights in the Pacific territory to more recent settlers.

Currently, only residents who have resided in New Caledonia since before 1998 and their children are afforded the right to vote in provincial elections. While, at the time, this law was put in place to protect the rights and representation of the indigenous Kanak people (who remain a minority across the archipelago), it has recently come into question for being “undemocratic”. The new amendment will allow those who have lived in New Caledonia for more than ten years, regardless of their arrival date, to take part in elections. Seperarists fear that this law will allow more French nationals to vote, further diluting the voice of the indigenous population.

Protests against the amendment have escalated quickly, with pro-independence leaders instigating riots, looting, and widespread blockades. After almost a week of violent protests and at least six reported deaths, France launched a “major operation” this weekend to regain control of the capital, Noumea, sending heavily armed gendarmes to tackle the roadblocks and putting in place a state of emergency, which includes a ban on TikTok and a nighttime curfew. Efforts are also being made to evacuate tourists trapped on the island now that Noumea’s international airport has been closed.

In response to the protests, President Macron has agreed to hold off on signing the amendment into law, inviting New Caledonian representatives to join negotiations in Paris. However, this offer has a strict expiry date – if an agreement hasn’t been reached by June, then the amendment will be signed into law.

Aside from the violence, the unrest is said to have caused huge economic damage, with dozens of businesses being looted or set on fire. More crucially, the tensions bring the long-standing debate of islands’ French rule into the spotlight – while New Caledonia has been a French territory since the mid-19th century, the question of independence has long dominated local politics.

The first of the online French tax declaration deadlines is looming! If you live in French départements 1-19, you have until midnight on the 23 May – this Thursday – to submit your annual tax return. This deadline also applies to any overseas residents who need to file a tax return in France – this applies to some second-home owners or those receiving income or running a business in France.

Further deadlines include May 30th for those living in départements 20-54 and June 6th for départements 50-101 and French overseas territories. In 2024, you’ll need to declare all of your worldwide income from 2023.

Remember that all French residents must file an annual tax return, even if you didn’t earn any income or have no French taxes to pay!

Where & How to Get Help Filling in Your French Tax Return

Next week’s FrenchEntrée webinar will be focussing on Americans moving to and buying in France. I’ll be joined by a panel of experts to look at everything from the property purchase process to visas, taxes to currency exchange, offering plenty of advice for US buyers.

As always, we’ll try to get through as many of your live questions as possible, and you can also send me your questions in advance to [email protected].

Don’t forget that this Sunday, May 25th, is Mother’s Day or the Fête des Mères in France, falling on a different date to the UK and US Mother’s Days. Happy Mother’s Day to all Mums across the country!