“We are witnessing the downfall of a country. » Isabelle’s spirit of self-employment is very widespread among the people of New Caledonia. The French-born graphic designer has spent more than twenty years in the region and has decided to leave Le Caillou. He shared offices with about ten independent workers who, like him, saw their order book shrink by 50%. Following the destruction of businesses, shops and public infrastructure that has hit New Caledonia since May 13, most of them are considering leaving, not counted in official figures.

The archipelago of 270,000 inhabitants, whose annual gross domestic product is around eight billion euros, is experiencing a real disaster that will put almost 24,000 New Caledonians into unemployment in a very short period of time, according to the hypothesis accepted by the authorities. This represents about one-third of the approximately 68,000 employees in the private sector. Wage losses and countless expected departures will hit consumption hard. According to the National Statistics and Economic Survey, it accounts for 60% of the archipelago’s growth.

“In New Caledonia, the riots occurred at a time when the region’s economic situation was already particularly bleak and its prospects very uncertain, related to the crisis in the nickel industry.”In its latest economic report published on July 11, the institution underscored the Banque de France’s foreign issuance.

Since the beginning of the events, the New Caledonia government has set up an economic unit to recover the cost of the crisis. At the end of June, the amount of damage to the public and private sectors, not taking into account the operating losses of companies, was still tentatively estimated at more than 2.2 billion euros. The financial needs of the community are also estimated at 675 million euros.

“Blacklisted by Shipping Companies”

With more than six weeks at a complete standstill, the economy is largely at a standstill. Entire sectors of operations cannot be resumed, with the expected induced effects on companies not directly affected. This applies to tourism and the nickel industry, which has been almost completely shut down since May 13. Closing subcontractors and disappearing suppliers can complicate a potential recovery.

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