Macron to visit New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea on 'historic' Pacific tour

French president Emmanuel Macron will travel to the south-west Pacific this week, in a "historic" visit designed to bolster his Indo-Pacific strategy and reaffirm France's role in the region. The five-day visit begins on 24 July in the French archipelago of New Caledonia, followed by stops in Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. The Elysée, the French presidential palace, has said it is the first time a French president will travel to independent countries in the Pacific region, and not only French overseas territories. In the Pacific, France assumes sovereignty for three territories: New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna….