It is a particularly emblematic place in New Caledonia. The “big box” of the customs senate, which represents the eight customary areas of the archipelago, was the target of an arson attack on the night from Saturday to Sunday a little more than two years after another arson attack.
A 35-year-old man has been taken into police custody, a court source told us on Sunday. Arrested on Saturday night for theft in vehicles, he would have admitted his involvement in the fire, which did not claim any victims.
Borne deplores “a serious attack” on the Kanak identity
“I want to express all my solidarity with the usual senators whose big shack in Nouméa was burnt down again. It is a severe attack on the usual Senate, custodian and defender of the Kanak identity,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne replied on her Twitter account. The first elements of the investigation “clearly favor the criminal trail,” specified the Nouméa prosecutor.
The “big hut”, a building made of wood and straw, represents the power place of the Kanak culture. Located in the Nouville district of Nouméa, the consultative institution is home to sixteen Kanak Senators representing the eight traditional areas of New Caledonia. The Customary Senate “Big Box” is a must-see for all political figures visiting the territory. All the Presidents of the Republic, Prime Ministers or members of the government have been there since the establishment of the institution in 1998.
“This is a grave and intolerable attack on an institution of New Caledonia resulting from the Noumea Accords, which justifies a total determination on the part of the investigators and the prosecution to solve this case as soon as possible. Deadlines,” said prosecutor Yves Dupas. The building had just been rebuilt in similar circumstances after a previous fire in August 2020. This catastrophe triggered strong emotions in the archipelago at the time.