Two Years After the Unrest in New Caledonia: Parisian Judges Acquit Kanak Activists Including Christian Tein

Paris – 06/05/2026: Two years after the violent unrest in New Caledonia, Parisian judges have acquitted all members of the Cellule de Coordination des Actions de Terrain (CCAT), including its spokesperson Christian Tein, of charges of organizing the riots. The decision lies at the center of ongoing debates about the treatment of the Kanak independence movement by French authorities. The prosecution has already announced its intention to appeal.

The CCAT, a group of Kanak independence supporters, was heavily involved in mobilization during the May 2024 unrest that subsequently caused several deaths and significant property damage. Christian Tein, chairman of the Front de Libération National Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS), was arrested along with 13 other activists and transferred to France. They were accused of operating a secret organization and planning acts of violence.

The lengthy investigations have now led to an acquittal: the judges found that the evidence supporting the serious charges was insufficient. In particular, the suspicions had mainly been based on public statements by the CCAT, without concrete indications of a covert strategy to incite violence. Furthermore, it was documented that the group repeatedly called for de-escalation and calm during the unrest.

Political groups welcomed the verdict. The party La France Insoumise regarded the acquittal as confirmation of the presumption of innocence and criticized that the activists’ detention had been politically motivated. It called for the establishment of a parliamentary inquiry committee to examine the background of the 2024 events as well as state actions.

Similar voices came from the Union Populaire pour la Libération de la Guadeloupe (UPLG). They described the ruling as a defeat for an allegedly state-directed repression attempt and emphasized the importance of solidarity with oppressed populations. The UPLG sharply criticized the treatment of the Kanak activists by French authorities.

The Paris prosecution, however, maintains the view that further investigations are necessary. It stresses the goal of fully identifying and prosecuting those responsible for the unrest. Therefore, a continuation of the legal proceedings over an extended period is expected.

For Christian Tein and his fellow activists, the acquittal represents an important milestone victory. They have consistently asserted that they bear no responsibility for the outbreaks of violence and that their actions were peaceful and legally justified. The coming weeks will show how the conflicts between political activism, state security policy, and judicial processes in New Caledonia will evolve and what political consequences will arise.