A woman in Paris carries a placard with the text ‘170 years of French colonisation is enough. Independence for New Caledonia and support for the Kanak people’. Photo: AFP / Eric Broncard/Hans Lucas
One of seven people transferred to mainland France almost a year ago, following the May 2024 riots in New Caledonia, has been allowed to return home, a French court has ruled.
Frédérique Muliava, a former Congress staffer, was part of a group of six who were charged in relation to the May 2024 riots.
Under her new judicial requirements, set out by the judge in charge of the case, Muliava, once she returns to New Caledonia, is allowed to return to work, but is not to make any contact with other individuals related to her case and not to take part in any public demonstration.
Four days after their arrest in Nouméa in June 2024, Muliava and six others were transferred to mainland France aboard a specially-chartered plane.
They were charged with criminal-related offences (including being a party or being accomplice to murder attempts and thefts involving the use of weapons) and have since been remanded in several prisons pending their trial.
In January 2025, the whole case was removed from the jurisdiction of New Caledonia-based judges and has since been transferred back to investigating judges in mainland France.
