New Caledonia, a remote French overseas territory in the South Pacific, is not often in the news. It’s even less common when you see the truly unexpected cast of characters placing this small island group into an unwanted limelight.

The trigger for the recent troubles was a ruling in Paris allowing for voting rights for the island’s non-indigenous population, thus indirectly diluting the power of the local Kanak people. Rioting, widespread looting in Noumea, the nation's capital, quickly spread as would sadly be expected, and before long France sent Gendarmes and troops from Europe to quell the troubles. Seven people, including two police officers, were killed during the disturbances leading to the French government declaring a State of Emergency.

Situated between Australia and the Fiji Islands, New Caledonia’s population of 272,000 is roughly divided between an indigenous Kanak majority of 41 percent and a French/European minority of 24 percent among other mixed groups. Many French have fully assimilated locally. The population is overwhelmingly Christian.

Back in 1998 after an earlier time of tensions, the French government agreed to the Noumea Accords allowing for three referendums on whether the territory wished to gain independence from France. Over this past decade, all........

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