New Caledonia has declared a “state” in accordance with autonomy, but will remain French | New policies

The agreement allows the archipelago which underwent unrest last year to be its own state but remains in the French lap.

France has announced a “historic” agreement with New Caledonia in which the overseas territory of the South Pacific, which was shaken by a wave of troubles Last year on controversial electoral reformswill be declared new state.

The 13-page agreement, reached Saturday after the negotiations in Paris between the French government and the groups on both sides of the debate on the independence of the territory, proposes the creation of a “state of New Caledonia”, with its own nationality, but does not stop at independence sought by many Aboriginal Kanaks.

“A state of New Caledonia within the Republic: it is a bet on confidence,” said French president Emmanuel Macron on X, saying that the time had come for “respect, stability and … good will to build a common future”.

Under the agreement, New Caledonia would immediately control its foreign policy, but could put the transfer of additional sovereign powers on defense, currency, security and justice to a public vote, potentially opening the way to become a member state of the United Nations, according to the French newspaper Le Monde.

The troubles broke out in May 2024, after Paris proposed a law authorizing thousands of non -Aboriginal long -term residents living in the territory to vote in the provincial elections, diluting a 1998 agreement which restricted these rights.

Kanaks, which represents around 40% of the territory of the territory of nearly 300,000 people, feared that the move would leave them in a permanent minority, diluting their influence and crushing their chances of gaining independence.

Violence, in which 14 people was killed, would have cost the territory for two billion euros (2.3 billion dollars), shaving 10% reduction on its gross domestic product (GDP), according to Manuel Valls, French Minister of Foreign Territories.

The agreement will help “get us out of the spiral of violence,” said Emmanuel Tjibaou, a Kanak legislator who participated in talks.

The legislator Nicolas Metzdorf, who is in favor of staying in the French fold, said that the compromise agreement was born from “demanding dialogue”, describing Caledonian nationality as a “real concession”.

The two chambers of the French Parliament must meet in the fourth quarter of this year to vote on the approval of the agreement, which must then be submitted to the Caledonians in a referendum in 2026.

“ Smart compromise ”

Located nearly 17,000 km (10,600 miles) in Paris, New Caledonia has been governed from Paris since the 1800s.

Many Aboriginal Kanaks still feel the power of France on their islands and want a complete autonomy or independence.

The latest referendum on independence in New Caledonia took place in 2021.

But it was boycotted by pro-independence groups on the impact of the COVVI-19 pandemic on the population of Kanak, and the political situation of the archipelago has since been launched.

Valls described the agreement on Saturday an “intelligent compromise” which maintains links between France and New Caledonia, but with more sovereignty for the Pacific Island.

The agreement also provides for an economic and financial recovery pact which would include a renewal of nickel treatment capacities in the territory.