Friday 26 / July / 2024
This comes as a referendum that is the result of a 30-year long decolonisation process.
It is the first auto-determination vote to be held in a French territory since Djibouti in the Horn of Africa voted for independence in 1977.
Tensions have long run deep between pro-independence indigenous Kanaks and descendants of colonial settlers who remain loyal to Paris.
A "yes" vote would not only dent the pride of France but would deprive Paris of a foothold in the Indo-Pacific region where China is expanding its presence.
