End clap for Sonia Backès in government. The Secretary of State for Citizenship, who suffered a failure in the senatorial elections, presented her resignation this Wednesday, September 27 to President Emmanuel Macron, we learned from a government source, confirming information from Le Figaro. Questioned by AFP, the entourage of Sonia Backès, who was running for senator in New Caledonia under the label of the presidential Renaissance party, refused to make any comment. The government source did not specify whether his resignation had been accepted.
It was customary under the Fifth Republic for members of the government defeated in elections to resign. But under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron, those who were defeated were replaced during broader reshuffles, like Jean-Michel Blanquer.
Her surprise defeat – she was given the favorite – occurred in a complicated context of discussions on the institutional future of the archipelago between the executive and the parties concerned. She was soundly beaten by the independentist Robert Xowie.
In mid-September, back in New Caledonia after a week of discussions in Paris, the main independence party, the Caledonian Union, announced the suspension of its meetings with the State, criticizing the government’s project. A cold shower for the executive, who had nevertheless displayed his satisfaction at the end of this round of discussions.
The fact of putting separatists and “loyalists” around the same table in Paris, and this for the first time since 2019, was perceived by Emmanuel Macron and his government as a sign of hope for a political agreement with a view to a constitutional revision in 2024. The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, is due to go to New Caledonia at the end of October.
