New Caledonia will vote again for independence

The archipelago of New Caledonia, in the South Pacific (the Coral Sea), will vote in a new referendum, the third in less than three years, on its independence from France.

The political leaders of both loyalist and separatist sentiments, meeting at the Ministry of Overseas France (in Paris), discussed the future of the country for several weeks thanks to French mediation, reached a rather complex agreement: they will hold a new referendum before the end of the year and, whatever the result, they will prolong the current situation for two years of transition.

The recalcitrant attitude of the pro-independence supporters, who have already been defeated on two recent occasions, ended up imposing this formula. The first referendum was held in 2018 and the loyalists in favour of maintaining their current status won with 53.2%; barely a year and a half later, the call was repeated and the pro-independence supporters reached 46.74%, which gave them encouragement to continue calling for another referendum. The new referendum will be held in November.

New Caledonia is one of the territories under colonial rule that, like Gibraltar, remain on the UN's Committee of 24 to be decolonised, something France is not opposed to if the majority so wishes. The archipelago consists of a major island where the capital (Noumea) is located, five smaller islands and several archipelagos. The population is 232,000, about half of which is concentrated in the capital. The population is divided between natives and about 40% French long-term residents.