For a group our size (we regularly have over 800 people on our mumble, peak is somewhere around the 1.3k mark if I remember correctly), it would also be very cost prohibitive to use TS

Not that I particularly care to defend the french government, but there was 3 referendums, with voting restrictions in favor of the kanak, as per an agreement between the government and the kanaks. The first 2 went against independence and the kanaks decided to boycott the third (the polling was going against independence, again)

Does that mean all is fine and dandy? Obviously not, but I don’t think the story is as one sided as “classic french colonialism”