New Caledonia Archipelago votes on independence from France
Voters in New Caledonia, a French archipelago in the South Pacific, were deciding Sunday whether they want independence from France in a referendum that marks a milestone in a three-decade decolonization effort.
Polls closed Sunday in New Caledonia's independence referendum, with voters in the French South Pacific territory expected to reject breaking away from France after almost 170 years despite rising support for the move.
Enthusiasm was high and authorities said turnout was about 80 percent an hour before voting ended -- a full six points higher than in its first independence referendum held in 2018 -- leaving people to form long queues to cast their ballots.
More than 180,000 voters were invited to answer the question: “Do you want New Caledonia to gain full sovereignty and become independent?” Polling stations opened at 8 am (11 pm Saturday in mainland France; 2100 GMT) and will close 10 hours later. Results were expected later Sunday.
If voters choose independence, a transition period will immediately open so that the archipelago can get ready for its future status. Otherwise, New Caledonia will remain a French territory.
Two years ago, 56.4 percent of voters who participated in a similar referendum opted to have a relationship with Paris rather than support independence.Both referendum are the final stages of a process that followed the violence that began 30 years ago that prepared pro-independence Kanak activists to remain in France.
The archipelago now counts 270,000 inhabitants, including both native Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies, and descendants of European colonizers.
New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III “Napoleon’s nephew and heir” and was used for decades as a prison colony. It became an overseas territory after World War II, with French citizenship granted to all Kanak's in 1957. Under French colonial rule, the Kanak's faced strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination.
A special authorisation allowing the French national flag to be used in campaign spots angered the pro-independence Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), which accused the French government of taking sides against independence.
If New Caledonia votes for independence, France would, after a transition period, hand over control.
The last former colonies to gain independence from France were Djibouti in 1977 and Vanuatu in 1980.
Paris would also stop paying its yearly subsidy, a frightening prospect for the six remain parties that have formed a loyalist coalition.
"We cannot live without French money," said Gil Brial, the group's campaign director.
But Charles Washetine, spokesman for the Party of Kanak Liberation (Palika), said: "Our country is mature enough to be completely in charge of its own affairs."
French Prime Minister Jean Castex, whose government must remain scrupulously neutral in the vote, has said he plans to talk to all the main actors in the aftermath of the poll.
