• Producer(s):

    ARTE GEIE

  • Territories:

    Worldwide.

  • Production year:

    2018

  • Language(s):

    German, English, French

  • Rights:

    TV, DVD, NON-THEATRICAL, INTERNET, VOD

On November 4, 2018, the first of three referendums on the future of New Caledonia will be held. Voters have a choice between independence or staying under French rule.

This public consultation has been made possible by the Matignon Accords of 1988 – they have made official the notion of “re-balancing”, notably territorially. This re-balancing is being conducted by the State: it is buying back lands that were no longer maintained to give it back to Kanaks who had driven out the Caldoches (the Europeans) from their farms in the 80s. This division of land along ethnic lines is unthinkable in mainland France. But it is the rule on this island in the Pacific.
 
This redistribution has had an unforeseen effect: it has created two types of agricultures that do not have the same economical weight nowadays. In the East, Kanak farmers mostly cultivate yams and taros and aim for self-sufficiency in food. Meanwhile in the West the Caldoche domains sell meat and cereals in massive quantities. What if decolonization of the lands had ironically created a true agricultural disparity?