A peaceful march was held on Friday morning (November 24) in support of the pro-independence movement in negotiations on the political future of New Caledonia. The message sent to the French government is clearly contained in this banner (see photo): “We will never give up on the dreams of our fathers.” The dream being that of full sovereignty, in other words: independence from France. The demonstration took place while one of the French government’s top ministers, Gérald Darmanin, was on Caledonian soil. According to the police, there were 1,200 people; according to the organizers, there were 3,000. The truth must lie somewhere in the middle… It should be pointed out that this demonstration was organized by militants from the Union calédonienne, Jean-Marie Tjibaou’s party. The Palika, the other major pro-independence party (Paul Neaoutyine), had called for the demonstration to be held so as not to disrupt ongoing negotiations.