The village of Hienghène illustrates the terrible chaos into which New Caledonia sank in 1984: as elections loomed, relations between Kanaks and "Caldoches" turned into a nightmare. Hienghène was all the more symbolic because its mayor was Jean-Marie Tjibaou, the emblematic leader of the Kanak independence movement. On December 5, 1984, a group of Caldoches organized an ambush against Kanaks. The latter's vehicles were riddled with bullets, the fugitives coldly shot down. The result: ten dead, all Kanaks. Three years later, the seven murderers were brought before the Noumea Assize Court. When the verdict was delivered, it was shocking: a general acquittal, on the grounds of self-defense. From then on, New Caledonia would become even more inflamed.
