PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 10, 2025: On Saturday, May 10, demonstrators gathered in Paris to demand the release of New Caledonian independence supporters detained by French authorities. The protest began near the Porte de Charenton metro station and continued toward Place de la Nation, drawing participants who condemned France’s treatment of pro-independence activists from its Pacific territory. Marchers called for the charges against detained New Caledonians to be dropped and urged that those imprisoned in France be allowed to return home voluntarily. Some demonstrators carried signs reading "Solidarity with New Caledonia," while others read aloud the names of those killed during the unrest that erupted on May 13, 2024. Protesters also demanded the withdrawal of French military forces from the island and chanted slogans such as “Down with colonialism” and “Long live the resistance of the New Caledonian people.” One protester wore a T-shirt bearing a quote from French President Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 visit to Algeria: “Colonialism is a crime against humanity.” Iabe Lapacas, secretary of the Kanak Movement in France, noted the historical significance of the protest’s starting point. He recalled that in 1931, the same area hosted France’s International Colonial Exhibition, where a “New Caledonian Colonial Village” displayed colonized people and resources. He emphasized that New Caledonian ancestors were once presented there as “savages” and “cannibals.” Tensions in New Caledonia escalated in May 2024 when France introduced a constitutional reform allowing French citizens who had resided on the island for at least ten years to vote in local elections. The move was widely seen as a violation of the 1998 Noumea Accord, which granted the territory partial autonomy and limited voting rights to Indigenous Kanaks and long-term residents. The reform sparked mass protests that were met with force. French security operations led to the deaths of 13 people. The unrest marked one of the most serious challenges to France’s control over the territory, located nearly 17,000 kilometers from mainland France. Writing by Aleyna Cil