NARRATIVE. Having come to play a friendly match in New Caledonia the day before the start of the riots, the Papeete team has been stuck there for a week. Between a distressing daily life and the absence of news, the captain recounts their misadventure to Le Figaro.
On the phone, the voice is clear, the familiarity is instantaneous. Jérémy Taute is the captain of the Papeete Rugby Club in Tahiti. And he is happy to be able to relay the call for help that amateur rugby players published Monday on their Facebook account. “We arrived in Nouméa two weeks ago to play a friendly match against the local club with which we are paired. The day after the match, the riots started . We were supposed to fly back exactly a week ago. But the day before, everything was closed, roads and airport blocked . Since then, we have been waiting”entrusted to Figaro the captain of the team, responsible for the prevention of safety and environmental risks at Tahiti airport in civilian life.
The thirty-year-old takes care to tell the genesis of this trip. “Several times in the weeks before our visit, we inquired, we asked them if it was safe to come. No one expected it to turn out like this. On the day of the match, everything was fine. There were hundreds of people, lots of children, a great atmosphere. That’s a bit out of line with what’s happening today. Unfortunately, we were there at the wrong time…”
The message from the Papeete club on social networks Facebook
Coming with 25 players and staff members, they were housed in a center for high-level athletes in Dumbéa, a commune in Greater Nouméa located to the north of the capital of New Caledonia. They are still there. “The center managers kindly offered us to stay in place. This is a relief because Aircalin (the French airline which operates in the Pacific zone, Editor’s note) does not cover our accommodation because the situation is considered a case of force majeure. Since then, it’s been a bit of a struggle”admits the thirty-year-old before going into the details of a distressing daily life.
“It’s not really quiet, no. This is not the feeling we have here, on site. Dumbéa is a fairly sensitive neighborhood, at the heart of the riots. This is one of the last pockets of resistance. There is looting at night, acts of vandalism and clashes with the police.
Jérémy Taute, captain of the Papeete club
“The first evenings, it was really, really hot in the neighborhood. We set up guard tours. We were really stressed because, opposite, these were armed people who had no limits. We are not here to fight. We were no longer watching to bury ourselvesadmits Jérémy Taute. At the beginning, we spent the day at the sports center, where we have access to green spaces, sports halls, training grounds. But, in the evening, we went to the family of one of the players on our team, who is from Wallis, a little further north in the neighborhood. His family welcomed us to keep us safe in a more confined space. And, in the morning, we went back down to the center. But, two days ago, we made the decision to stay permanently at the center because the journeys were becoming too dangerous. Guys are blocking the streets, setting cars on fire. We almost got stoned.”
“Acts of vandalism”
On site, the situation is still tense, far from the calming messages from government authorities. “It’s not really quiet, no. This is not the feeling we have here, on site. Dumbéa is a fairly sensitive neighborhood, at the heart of the riots. This is one of the last pockets of resistance. There is looting at night, acts of vandalism and clashes with the police. We know that there are neighborhoods where the situation is simpler, particularly towards the beach and Baie des Citrons, wealthier neighborhoods which have returned to almost normal life. But, for the rest of Nouméa and greater Nouméa, things remain very tense. Just last night, I was on night duty monitoring the center. We went to the two roundabouts which surround the center where there are neighborhood militias armed to the teeth, with molotov cocktails and homemade bombs. It’s no joke. Everyone is under tension, aware that things could go wrong at any moment. During the day, we still hear explosions and gunfire, even if there are fewer than last week. It’s not safe at all honestly”says this RCT supporter, originally from Manosque, near Aix-en-Provence.
On a daily basis, everything is becoming more complicated, especially the supply of food. “We have drinking water on tap, so that’s okay. We are not lacking. When it comes to food, it’s more difficult. The demonstrators, the rioters – I don’t know what to call them, we don’t want to take sides… – engage in a lot of looting. They burn shopping centers and small stores. Supply chains are cut… We have some reserves left but it’s not crazy. Apart from the solidarity of other local rugby clubs and people who have seen our messages, whom we thank from the bottom of our hearts, we receive no help from the local authorities, nor from those of Tahiti.regrets the third line.
“For a week, we have had zero news. The High Commission told us that this was not a priority at all. There are military convoys which link Polynesia and New Caledonia. But, until now, there have been no invitations to join these convoys. »
Jeremy Taute
For him and his teammates, amateur rugby players, this forced stay is not without consequences. On work and family life. “Guys are self-employed, it’s a net loss for them. Many have children and their families are worried. We give them news as best we can. We have deadlines, but every two or three days, they are pushed back. It’s not simple”, he admits. However, what happens next remains uncertain. The captain does not foresee a return of his team, at best, within another long week.
“We were very quickly in contact with the authorities in French Polynesia, whether it was the High Commission or the Presidency. Initially, our president said he wanted to enter into mediation to encourage the return of Polynesian nationals. But, for a week, we have had zero news. The High Commission told us that this was not a priority at all. There are military convoys which link Polynesia and New Caledonia. But, until now, there have been no invitations to join these convoys. There is no evolution. We remain oriented towards commercial flights. But they are not about to reopen. There are communications. The airport is scheduled to reopen on Thursday. But it varies. By the time traffic really becomes safer on the airport axis, it will take a week before normal rotations are again possible.he believes.
In the meantime, we have to keep the days busy. If three players from the Papeete team have joined their families there, the 22 others continue to share their daily lives. “Despite everything, morale remains good. We are still lucky to be in a sports center. We can keep busy during the day. In the morning, we organize ourselves to do common tasks such as cleaning and gardening. In the afternoon, we have group sports activities to kill time. But in the evening, we don’t stay up too much. It gets complicated. From 8 p.m., we established a curfew to avoid problems…” By constantly remaining on the lookout for possible good news that would put an end to their forced stay in New Caledonia.
