New Caledonia is known for the native Kanak people, whose flag is one of the two official flags of the territory along with the French tricolor, and who have had a particularly nasty history with the French, with there being several violent clashes between the French government and the Kanak independence movement in the 70's and 80's until the Matignon Agreements were signed on the 26th of June, 1988, at which point stability returned to the territory. The territory was also a important allied base in World War II, with Nouméa being the headquarters of the United States Army and Navy in the South Pacific, and the fleet that marked the turn of the war in May 1942 with the Battle of the Coral Sea being based there.
The New Caledonian flag
This flag is a horizontal tricolor of blue, symbolizing both the sky and more importantly the ocean surrounding New Caledonia, red, symbolizing the blood shed by the Kanaks in their struggle for independence, unity and socialism, and green, symbolizing the land itself and by extension the ancestors buried within it, charged with a yellow disc fibrated black, representing the sun, with a flèche faitière defaced on it, a kind of arrow that adorns the roofs of Kanak houses thrust through tutut shells.
The French national anthem
Allons enfants de la patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé!
Contre nous, de la tyrannie
L'étendard sanglant est levé.
L'étendard sanglant est levé.
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes
Mugir ces féroces soldats?
Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras
Égorger vos fils et vos compagnes!
Aux armes, citoyens!
Formez vos bataillons!
Marchons, marchons,
Qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons!
—
Let us go, children of the motherland,
The day of glory has come!
Against us, the tyranny's
bloody flag has been raised.
Bloody flag has been raised.
Can you hear in the countryside,
These ferocious soldiers bellowing?
They come all the way into your arms
To arms, citizens!
Form your batallions!
Let us march, let us march,
The New Caledonian territorial anthem
Ô terre sacrée de nos ancêtres,
Lumière éclairant nos vies,
Tu les invites à nous transmettre
Leurs rêves, leurs espoirs, leurs envies.
A labri des pins colonnaires,
A lombre des flamboyants,
Dans les vallées de tes rivières,
Leur cœur toujours est présent.
Hnoresaluso kej onome
Ha deko ikuja ne enetho
Hue netitonelo kebo kaagu
Ri nodedrane
Soyons unis, devenons frères,
Plus de violence ni de guerre.
Marchons confiants et solidaires,
Pour notre pays
Terre de parole et de partage
Tu proposes à létranger,
Dans la tribu ou le village,
Un endroit pour se reposer.
Tu veux loger la tolérance,
Léquité et le respect,
Au creux de tes bras immenses,
Ô Terre de liberté.
Hnoresaluso kej onome
Ha deko ikuja ne enetho
Hue netitonelo kebo kaagu
Ri nodedrane
Soyons unis, devenons frères,
Plus de violence ni de guerre.
Marchons confiants et solidaires,
Pour notre pays
Ô terre aux multiples visages,
Nord, Sud, Iles loyauté,
Tes trois provinces sont limage
De ta grande diversité.
Nous tes enfants, tu nous rassembles,
Tempérant nos souvenirs.
Dune seule voix, chantons ensemble :
Terre, tu es notre avenir.
Hnoresaluso kej onome
Ha deko ikuja ne enetho
Hue netitonelo kebo kaagu
Ri nodedrane
Soyons unis, devenons frères,
Plus de violence ni de guerre.
Marchons confiants et solidaires,
Pour notre pays
—
Oh sacred land of our ancestors,
The light which lights the way of our lives,
You invite them to pass on to us
Their dreams, their hopes, their desires.
In the shelter of the columnar pines,
In the shade of the flame trees,
In the valleys of your rivers,
Their heart is always there.
Let us unite, let us become brothers,
Let us march, in confidence and solidarity,
For our country
Let us unite, let us become brothers,
No more violence, no more war.
Let us march, in confidence and solidarity,
For our country
Land of speech and sharing,
You offer to a stranger,
In the tribe or in the village,
A place to rest.
You want to house tolerance,
Equity and respect,
Enfold them with your giant arms,
Oh Land of freedom.
Let us unite, let us become brothers,
No more violence, no more war.
Let us march, in confidence and solidarity,
For our country
Let us unite, let us become brothers,
No more violence, no more war.
Let us march, in confidence and solidarity,
For our country
Oh land of multiple faces,
North, South, Loyalty Islands,
Your three provinces are the image
Of your great diversity
We, your children, resemble you
Tempering our memory.
With a single voice, let us sing together:
Land, you are our future.
Let us unite, let us become brothers,
No more violence, no more war.
Let us march, in confidence and solidarity,
For our country
Let us unite, let us become brothers,
No more violence, no more war.
Let us march, in confidence and solidarity,
For our country
Government
- Devolved parliamentary dependency
- President: Emmanuel Macron
- Government President: Louis Mapou
- President of the Congress: Roch Wamytan
- High Commissioner: Louis Le Franc
- Capital and largest city: Nouméa
- Population: 271,407
- Area: 18,275 km² (7,056 sq mi)
- Currency: CFP franc (₣) (XPF)
- ISO-3166-1 Code: NC
