Du spectre du dépeuplement à celui de l’indépendance
The issue of the depopulation of rural areas and islands in New Caledonia has become a major and controversial element of political debates. It fits into the wider context of the decolonization process, of the rebalancing plan between Noumea and the other parts of the archipelago, and the prospects...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille
2016-03-01
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| Series: | Espace populations sociétés |
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| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/eps/6197 |
| Summary: | The issue of the depopulation of rural areas and islands in New Caledonia has become a major and controversial element of political debates. It fits into the wider context of the decolonization process, of the rebalancing plan between Noumea and the other parts of the archipelago, and the prospects for independence. In this regard, the demographic decline of several municipalities is often presented as evidence of the limits of spatial and economic rebalancing and as an indication of a failure of the pro-independence majorities, something the latter refuse to accept. However, this depopulation merits further investigation. On one hand, the demographic evolution between recent censuses has not been uniform and requires a differentiated diagnosis. On the other hand, traditional concepts associated with depopulating areas, such as that of “desertification,” developed in metropolitan France or in Europe as a whole, seem inappropriate in the geographic and demographic context of New Caledonia whose characteristics are dissimilar. |
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| ISSN: | 0755-7809 2104-3752 |