New Caledonia’s leaders reach ‘historic’ deal on French territory’s future

Political leaders in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia reached an agreement about the archipelago's future on Saturday. This includes the creation of a State of New Caledonia, which will be written into the French Constitution.

The agreement allows residents of the territory to hold both French and New Caledonian nationality. It also sets out financial understandings with Paris to benefit the islands, located in the Pacific Ocean to the East of Australia.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou, who has made overseas territories a priority since taking office last year, described it as a "historic agreement".

Negotiations began in early July to draw up a shared vision for New Caledonia’s future that will bridge deep divisions between the Indigenous Kanak population, who want more independence from Paris, and descendants of French settlers.

In a post on X, Bayrou hailed the State of New Caledonia and paid tribute to the negotiators and specifically Manuel Valls, the French overseas minister.

A statement by the two parties quoted by FranceInfo described the agreement as the beginning of a "new era of stability by formally bringing New Caledonia into the French Republic".

Voting rights will be granted "to a large number of Caledonians and their partners," the text adds.

In May 2024, unrest erupted in New Caledonia after the French parliament proposed a constitutional revision of New Caledonia's electoral roll, which the archipelago's pro-independence groups saw as a move to undermine their political weight.

The violence left 14 dead, including 11 Kanaks, and caused an estimated €2 billion in damage.

Sonia Backes, the leader of the loyalists – descendants of French settlers – said that while the compromise "would not fully satisfy anyone" it provides a way out of "the spiral of violence, uncertainty and destruction".

"New Caledonian nationality takes nothing away from our membership of the Republic or our French nationality," she added.

The agreement still needs to be ratified by Caledonians with a local referendum.