New President of New Caledonia
New Caledonia has elected Louis Mapou as its first pro-independence president since a 1998 deal with Paris to grant more political power to the French Pacific territory.
After a period of five months without a leader of the archipelago, Mapou won the vote with six votes, compared to the incumbent President Thierry Santa’s four votes.
Louis Mapou said it was, “It is an honor and a heavy responsibility”, with the top three priorities for him being the “exit from the COVID-19 crisis, management of healthcare personnel and management of the New Caledonia budget”.
The Overseas Minister of France, Sebastian Lecornu, passed on his congratulations and welcomed the new President to the metropole. He expressed his wish to “meet him soon in Paris or to exchange by videoconference to discuss the various issues on which the State and the government of New Caledonia will be required to collaborate closely”.
Mapou sits on the board of directors of France's Eramet, which runs nickel mines, the Doniambo ferro-nickel plant near the port of Noumea, and a refinery that produces a type of nickel that can be used in electric vehicle batteries.
A vice-president has yet to be elected.
By Dominic McCarthy
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