Plus, were they gonna get support going forward or were they expected to become independent on their own after like 500 years of being colonized?
The referendum wasn't about independence, but becoming an overseas collective. Increased autonomy. More legislative power to the region itself. I'm not that firm on French constitutional law but it probably would have been useful if you planned on doing land reform, or expropriate. Not necessary when it comes to EU cohesion funds, the EU is very keen on having people decide locally, anyway, because of the Brits. Speaking of the EU and cohesion funds, have a brief.
I’m guessing rich white people are still in control, and the protestors are mostly black.
Few people still own lots of land, the state is still in control and still democratic, and the protestors are mostly workers. Of note: Agriculture doesn't dominate the economy, that is, that land ownership comes with limited economic power. I don't think land reform would really make a systemic difference stuff like education is more important, not that I would be opposed though. Do I read "why not make money with medical tourism from the US" between the lines in that EU brief. I
...anyhow. Note the absence of "white" and "black": This is France, even if melanin is distributed in certain ways noone wants to talk about anything in race terms (unless it's literal individual racism) because All French Are Equal and All French Are French, and no when France wins a football game it's not Africa that wins. That's shit racists say. You may not like it, but that's how the French want to roll.
I wonder what happened to good ole class analysis in the Anglosphere. Too leftist?
Doubt they’d send their controversial anti riot police to beat on an island full of white French people.
That'd be Corsica. Yes, yes they definitely would. They probably did in 2022 it just didn't make the news. Corsicans, at least, had the sense of actually accepting an offer for more autonomy. The language issue still isn't solved, though, I think, and apparently hell will freeze over before the French will ratify the ECRML.