In a double-page spread published on January 26, the daily newspaper Les Nouvelles calédoniennes explains that the economic recovery plan launched at the national level is now having a concrete impact on the island. Thanks to “the reindustrialization policy launched by the French government, eleven New Caledonian companies have obtained funding to diversify and improve their production and competitiveness against imports. A total of 163 million francs will be allocated to them.
The lack of ambition of the local government
For Patrice Faure, the high commissioner, who represents the French government in Caledonia, “these subsidies are really important, because they allow companies to make their investments more profitable […] with the creation of jobs. And therefore taxes”.
“It is a very nice message from the French government to want to put industry back in the center of the village,” commented Xavier Benoist, president of the Federation of Industries. Xavier Benoist “welcomes the ‘concrete actions’ and denounces the lack of ambition of the local government and the provinces, which are competent in economic matters”.
