New Caledonia wins the ‘No’ to independence from France. Macron: “Deeply grateful”

PARIS – With 53% of the votes, he wins the ‘No’ to independence from France in the referendum in New Caledonia, the French-owned Pacific archipelago. Support for the status quo, however, has been down since the 2018 referendum.

In the first vote on self-determination, on November 4, 2018, 56.7% of those entitled had also in that case chosen to keep the territory of the southwestern Pacific, near Australia, under French sovereignty.

Happy the French president Emmanuel Macron who, speaking live from the Elysée, welcomed the result “with a deep feeling of gratitude”.

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Deepening

Remain French or not? New Caledonia to the vote. With the shadow of China

by our correspondent ANAIS GINORI
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The turnout was very high today to decide whether the archipelago in the South Pacific should gain independence from France and break the ties that were first established in the mid-19th century. In Noumea, the capital, large lines of people waited under the scorching sun to vote, sometimes for hours. Almost 80% of voters had already voted an hour before polling stations closed, according to the French overseas ministry.

– Referendum 2020-
The estimated participation rate at 5 p.m. is 79.63%.
For the record, the participation rate at 5 p.m. in the 2018 referendum was 73.68%. pic.twitter.com/1SH6hKCaiH

– High Commission988 (@ HC98800) October 4, 2020

Throughout the archipelago you could hear singing and applause all day in the streets and some people waved independence flags.

The independence referendum is part of a three-decade decolonization effort aimed at resolving tensions in the archipelago between native Kanaks seeking independence and residents willing to stay in France. More than 180,000 voters were asked to answer the question: “Do you want New Caledonia to gain full sovereignty and become independent?”

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