The French Wlorla

Fred Dunne's New Caledonia Round-Up First Drive-In In The French Wlorla Opens In Noun

Le Drive-in Alizes, the drive-in cinema in the Fre

speaking world, opened

Noumea recently. It is situ in the suburb of Trianon built on reclaimed land where Japanese had a salt evapora plant before the war.

THE drive-in has accommod for 450 cars. The land which it stands covers about acres and was reclaimed with i from a neighbouring hill.

The whole installation, inch the cost of the site and rec tion, represents an investmeni about 25 million francs (£125,' The drive-in was designed John Roberts and Associates, of ney, who supervised its construe Projection machinery was supplie Westrex A/asia Ltd. and install© Messrs. Simpson and Harrisor that firm.

Owner of the Alizes is D Katevinica, who also owns the Theatre in Noumea (see picture p. 131).

Figures published by the C d’Eparge, New Caledonia’s interest-paying bank, were a i key to the country’s current reces: The figures showed that in the pi ous three months, six million fr (£30,000) had been withdrawn f savings accounts, although the n ber of accounts had increased 246.

It is almost certain that mosi the money was withdrawn to r hire purchase debts, especially houses and cars.

Many Nickel Co. employees i to almost double their pay 1 overtime, but since the nickel cession most overtime has 1 abolished. So most instalments, c paid with overtime pay, must i be met out of savings.

Nickel ore exports to Japan year are now expected to be more than 400,000 tons, comps with 600.000 tons last year. * * * Poultry breeders in New Caledc have formed an association, wli

in objective is to stop the im tation of all fresh and frozen ;s. Last year, three-quarters of w Caledonia’s imported eggs— -111 kilos —came from Australia, is compared with only 1,300 kilos m Australia in 1961. * * * 3n April 4, the second anniversary the suspension of repatriation of ; w Caledonia’s Vietnamese to rth Vietnam, a letter signed by 89 Vietnamese was sent to the horities in France asking that re nation be resumed immediately.

Fhe letter claimed damages for »se who sold their belongings and /q up jobs after the French Gov iment promised that they were to repatriated immediately.

Another letter of protest, signed 3,000 Vietnamese, was recently nded to Mr. Van Can. who arrived Noumea in March as represent ve of the South Vietnam Govern ;nt and head of an “official mission liaison” between it and the Viet mese in New Caledonia and the ;w Hebrides.

The letter “invited” Mr. Van Can go home and claimed that his esence in New Caledonia would ly further delay the repatriation of etnamese—to North Viet Nam.

Earlier, the New Caledonian As nbly had unanimously declared its jection to the establishment of a nsul from South or North Viol in in Noumea.

»n the new French High Commissioner he Pacific, Mr. Marc Biros, whose head rters are at Noumea, paid his first :ial visit to the New Hebrides at the of March he met a great number of I people. Here he meets Santo resi ts. The French District Agent, Mr. R. agen, in the dark suit, is making the oductions, and behind Governor Biros ie French Resident Commissioner in the New Hebrides, Mr. M. Delauney.

Photo: Hieu.