On Sunday afternoon, Australian citizens who have been trapped in New Caledonia were called to a meeting at one of the large hotels in the capital, Noumea.
The meeting was hastily organised and long overdue in the view of many who have been stuck here (including myself) amid the violent unrest that has roiled the French territory. While communication between the Australian High Commission and Australian citizens has not been ideal, the meeting made clear local officials were working to the best of their abilities to develop repatriation strategies.
Their accounts of these strategies, however, suggest that not only is the situation dangerous and logistics complex, another sticking point is the French administration.
