4 November 2018: For the moment, it looks like a No vote will carry the day.

New Caledonia to vote on independence from France
Paris has governed the Pacific archipelago since 1853, but devolved more autonomy after pro-independence protests.
by Catherine Wilson
2 Nov 2018
Canberra, Australia - The people of New Caledonia will vote on Sunday on whether they want full independence from France, which has ruled the small archipelago in the Pacific since the 19th century.

The islands, a nearly three-hour flight east of Australia, secured more autonomy amid growing calls for independence by the indigenous Kanak people in the 1980s.

When an estimated 174,000 voters who qualify as long-term residents head to the polls on Sunday, it will be the second referendum on New Caledonia's political status. The first, held in 1987, was widely boycotted by the Kanaks, resulting in more than 98 percent electing to remain with France.

In the capital, Noumea, while campaigning has been keen, the mood remains calm.
"The public mood in Noumea is pretty quiet," Catherine Ris, professor of economics at the University of New Caledonia, told Al Jazeera.

"Political parties and people involved in the parties are campaigning and excited to defend their opinions. There are lots of meetings, posters in the streets, and sheets of fabric printed with the red, blue and green of the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) flag are hooked on trees on the roadsides all around the country."

About 27 percent of New Caledonia's population of 279,000 are of European, primarily of French descent, and 39 percent indigenous. The rest are migrants from other Pacific islands and the wider Asia-Pacific.

The 1998 Noumea Accord sought to create a shared vision of the territory's future, but while people might agree with that vision, divisions remain between French loyalists intent on retaining the status quo, and a pro-independence movement equally committed to full self-determination.

It was the years of Kanak resistance to disenfranchisement and inequality that triggered talks between French and local leaders about reform. Kanaks were worried their customary land was being taken away from them and were angry at the French government's encouragement of inward European migration, even as Kanaks struggled to get an education and find work.

To appease the indigenous people and temper calls for independence, the French negotiated two major pacts.

The 1988 Matignon Accord was designed to bring more equitable development across New Caledonian society, while the Noumea Accord paved the way for increased autonomy based on an idea of "shared sovereignty", recognition of Kanak identity and rights and the timetable for this year's referendum.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/10/ ... 58306.html

Voters in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia have rejected a bid for independence.

Final results showed that 56.4% chose to remain part of France while 43.6% voted to leave - a tighter result than some polls had predicted.

Turnout was about 81%. The vote was promised by a 1988 deal that put an end to a violent campaign for independence.

For the link, see BBC/Asia (If I place the link here, the BBC logo show up again)

There will be two more referenda: one in 2020 and another in 2022. It'll be interesting to see if it gets across the line in either of those, considering it was much closer this time than anticipated.