Arnold Lèques, a former head of the Compagnie maritime des îles (CMI), is entering New Caledonia’s 2026 provincial elections with a blunt message: he says he is the only candidate explicitly campaigning to keep the French Pacific territory inside the French Republic.
Lèques says the decision to run came from a personal, family moment. He recounts that his granddaughters told him they don’t plan to return to New Caledonia after finishing their studies because they don’t see a future there. He is leading a slate called “Pour une Calédonie française” (“For a French New Caledonia”).
He describes his running mates as civil-society figures with no political career ambitions. Among them is Bianca Hénin, who previously served as the National Rally’s departmental delegate in New Caledonia until 2019.
Nickel sits at the center of his platform
Lèques is putting the nickel industry—long a pillar of New Caledonia’s economy—at the heart of his proposals. “We have the best nickel in the world and the second-largest reserves in the world. Yet we’re holding out our hand,” he said, according to NC la 1ère. He is calling for a full audit of the sector, arguing it is necessary to break what he describes as a dependence.
Beyond nickel, Lèques argues that current policies do not sufficiently support retirees and people with disabilities. He is also urging the French state to step in more forcefully to help with reconstruction and to support an economic restart.
He says he’s targeting nonvoters—not splitting the pro-France camp
Critics have accused Lèques of weakening the anti-independence side by adding yet another list to the ballot. He rejects that argument and says his stated target is people who don’t vote—an untapped pool of support he believes traditional parties have failed to mobilize.
Still, the risk of a fragmented pro-France vote is real, particularly in the South Province. Other lists are competing in the same political space, including “Faire Pays” led by Robert Kakue, an engineer and transportation-focused business leader. Kakue is campaigning on cohesion among New Caledonians and argues the debate should not be reduced to a simple independence-versus-non-independence divide.
An election shaped by economic strain and institutional questions
The provincial elections are taking place as New Caledonia faces a difficult rebuilding period after the violence of 2024. Across campaigns in the South, candidates are grappling with the same pressures: restarting the local economy, supporting a nickel industry in crisis, and defining the territory’s relationship with France.
Lèques is trying to make that last question the clearest dividing line—embracing a position he says few candidates state as directly: remaining in the French Republic.
