Agreement allows the archipelago that endured unrest last year to be its own state but remain within French fold.
France has announced a “historic” deal with New Caledonia in which the South Pacific overseas territory, which was rocked by a wave of unrest last year over controversial electoral reforms, will be declared a new state.
The 13-page accord, reached on Saturday after negotiations in Paris between the French government and groups on both sides of the territory’s independence debate, proposes the creation of a “State of New Caledonia”, with its own nationality, but stops short of the independence sought by many Indigenous Kanaks.
“A State of New Caledonia within the Republic: it’s a bet on trust,” French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X, saying that the time had come for “respect, stability, and… goodwill to build a shared future”.
Under the agreement, New Caledonia would immediately control its foreign policy, but could put the transfer of additional sovereign powers over defence, currency, security and justice to a public vote, potentially paving the way to becoming a member state of the United Nations, according to French newspaper Le Monde.
Unrest broke out in May 2024, after Paris proposed a law allowing thousands of non-Indigenous long-term residents living in the territory to vote in provincial elections, diluting a 1998 accord that restricted these rights.
Kanaks, who make up about 40 percent of the territory’s population of nearly 300,000, feared the move would leave them in a permanent minority, diluting their influence and crushing their chances of winning independence.
The violence, in which 14 people were killed, is estimated to have cost the territory two billion euros ($2.3bn), shaving 10 percent off its gross domestic product (GDP), according to Manuel Valls, France’s minister for overseas territories.
The accord will help “us get out of the spiral of violence”, said Emmanuel Tjibaou, a Kanak lawmaker who took part in the talks.
Lawmaker Nicolas Metzdorf, who is in favour of remaining in the French fold, said the compromise deal was born of “demanding dialogue”, describing Caledonian nationality as a “real concession”.
Both chambers of France’s parliament are to meet in the fourth quarter of this year to vote on approving the deal, which is then to be submitted to New Caledonians in a referendum in 2026.
‘Intelligent compromise’
Located nearly 17,000km (10,600 miles) from Paris, New Caledonia has been governed from Paris since the 1800s.
Many Indigenous Kanaks still resent France’s power over their islands and want fuller autonomy or independence.
The last independence referendum in New Caledonia was held in 2021.
But it was boycotted by pro-independence groups over the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Kanak population, and the political situation in the archipelago has since been deadlocked.
Valls called Saturday’s deal an “intelligent compromise” that maintains links between France and New Caledonia, but with more sovereignty for the Pacific island.
The deal also calls for an economic and financial recovery pact that would include a renewal of the territory’s nickel processing capabilities.
