New Caledonia: Christian Tein and CCAT activists are cleared of charges; the Paris prosecutor's office appeals.

Two years after the violent riots that shook New Caledonia in the spring of 2024, the courts have dismissed all charges against pro-independence leader Christian Tein and other Kanak activists indicted in the case of the Field Action Coordination Unit (CCAT). This decision was immediately challenged by the Paris prosecutor's office, which announced it would appeal.

The judicial investigation, opened following the violence that struck the archipelago, targeted fourteen people suspected of having organized or encouraged the unrest. Among them was Christian Tein, a leading figure in the Kanak independence movement and current president of the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS). Transferred to Paris in January 2025, the investigation was closely followed both in New Caledonia and at the national level.

The judges reject the insurrection theory

In their ruling, the investigating judges determined that there was insufficient evidence to bring the defendants to trial. They specifically rejected the insurrection charges that had been raised at the beginning of the investigation.

The judges concluded that while the demands put forward by the CCAT were rooted in a pro-independence agenda, they did not aim to overthrow the institutions of the Republic or seize the territory by force. According to them, the evidence gathered during the investigation did not establish the criminal liability of the fourteen individuals being prosecuted.

The lawyers denounce a political procedure

Christian Tein's lawyers welcomed a decision which, according to them, confirms their client's innocence after several months of pretrial detention and a controversial transfer to mainland France. They have denounced the proceedings from the outset as an attempt to weaken the Kanak independence movement.

Other lawyers involved in the case also believe that this ruling demonstrates the functioning of the rule of law. According to them, the investigations conducted never established the existence of a coordinated plan to organize the violence that engulfed the archipelago.

The prosecutor's office is calling for further investigations.

The Paris prosecutor's office, however, does not intend to let the matter rest. Believing that certain points still warrant further investigation, it immediately appealed the dismissal of the case. The prosecution wants additional inquiries to be carried out before the case is definitively closed.

This decision comes after the investigating magistrates announced the end of their investigations as early as January. The prosecutor's office indicates that a magistrate had been assigned for several weeks to analyze a particularly voluminous file, comprising more than 11.500 procedural documents.

A case at the heart of the New Caledonian crisis

The 2024 riots constitute one of the most serious episodes in the recent history of New Caledonia. Triggered in a context of high tensions surrounding the proposed unfreezing of the electoral roll, they resulted in fourteen deaths and more than two billion euros in material damage.

A state of emergency was then declared by the President of the Republic. Emmanuel MacronMeanwhile, a large-scale judicial operation targeted several alleged leaders of the mobilization. The CCAT had been accused of organizing actions intended to destabilize the institutions and economy of the archipelago.

A decision that reignites political tensions

The decision to dismiss the case has sparked mixed reactions within the New Caledonian political class. The FLNKS welcomed the news, seeing it as an acknowledgment of the lack of criminal responsibility of its members.

Conversely, loyalist officials strongly criticized the judges' ruling. The president of the Southern Province, Sonia Backes, denounced the decision as incomprehensible in light of the violence committed in 2024. Renaissance MP Nicolas Metzdorf also supported the prosecutor's appeal, arguing that the full truth must be uncovered regarding the events that plunged New Caledonia into an unprecedented crisis.