New Caledonia, independence the third time round?

This weekend the Kanaks will vote for the third time in three years on whether the archipelago of New Caledonia will become an independent state or continue as a French department in the Pacific Ocean with broad administrative autonomy. 

New Caledonia is in fact the last European colony in Oceania and is among the territories to be decolonised on the list of the UN's so-called Committee of 24. The desire for independence goes back 20 years and is officially recognised. 

At a meeting in Nouméa - the capital - in 1998, the French government and pro-independence supporters reached agreements laying the foundations for autonomy and setting dates for the holding of up to three official referendums on self-determination within three years. 

This is the third one, and if the pro-independence supporters do not win, their chance to try again in the near future is over. It is fair to say that third time's the charm. In 2019, the No to independence won by 56.7 per cent of the vote, and in 2020 by 53.2 per cent. The votes in favour were 43.4 per cent and 46.7 per cent respectively. 

The French government has expressed concern about the tension and has sent 1,400 gendarmes, 100 police officers and 250 soldiers to Nouméa to ensure the security of the elections and the maintenance of public order. The fear is that the pro-independence supporters will once again be defeated and unrest will break out. The country has a population of just over 270,000.

The secessionist leaders, for their part, are using this deployment of forces to accuse Paris of lack of neutrality and to try to pressure the population to maintain the current status quo. The polls - unreliable according to experts - predict that the No vote will once again prevail, albeit with fewer differences than in previous years. 

The autonomous government currently enjoys extensive administrative management capacity. France retains only responsibility for defence, public order and justice. The national flag is co-official with the French flag, and the archipelago has two deputies and one senator in the French chambers.

New Caledonia has been a French colony since 1953. For travel enthusiasts, it's a far-flung but evocative destination. In addition to its beaches and climate, its attractions include low accommodation and food prices and the hospitality of the Kanaks - or Kanaks, as they are known in French and internationally recognised.