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Voters in New Caledonia have rejected the idea of becoming a member of the United States, according to a referendum held on Sunday.
With almost all votes counted, partial results showed 57 percent in favor of remaining a French territory. Turnout was high at more than 80 percent
The vote on self-determination was part of a 30-year peace process in New Caledonia, an archipelago about 1,200km east of Australia in the South Pacific which was colonized by France 165 years ago. It follows long-running tensions between the indigenous Kanak population and settlers from France and other nations, which erupts in violence during a hostage crisis in 1988 which led to 21 deaths.
As the result became clear on Sunday, France 's President Emmanuel Macron said the majority of voters had expressed themselves "so that New Caledonia remains French." In a televised speech he said he was immensely proud "we have taken this historic step together".
A yes vote would have deprived France, to form a colonial power, of a strategic foothold in the Pacific – a region where Paris has signed it wants to play a role in countering China's growing influence.
During a visit to Australia and New Caledonia in May, Mr. Macron said it was important to preserve a "rules-based development" and not "any hegemony" in the region. He acknowledged the "breads of colonization" and saluted the "dignified" campaign for autonomy by the Kanaks but said "France would be less beautiful without New Caledonia".
"Losing New Caledonia would have had some impact on the world's second largest economy," said Jonathan Pryke, an analyst at the United States. Lowy center.
French opposition politicians from the center-right welcomed the referendum result. Laurent Wauquiez, president of the Republican Party, said in a statement quoted General de Gaulle's address to the New Caledonians 52 years ago: "You have a French role to play in this part of the world. You are a piece of France, you are Southern France. '"
Jean-Luc Mélenchon's goal Far-left France Unbowed party was dismayed. In a statement, the party said: "The result of the referendum is a deep disappointment for all those who believe in the need for full sovereignty of the people of the archipelago."
New Caledonia controls over a quarter of the world's nickel deposits, with the company Eramet owning 60 percent of the biggest local mining company SLN.
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Paris provides annual subsidies worth € 1.3bn into the New Caledonia economy every year and pro-French political parties had warned before the referendum of economic difficulties if voters backed independence. There were about 175,000 eligible voters on the archipelagos with indigenous Kanaks making up about 40 per cent of the population of about 280,000 people.
Sunday's vote does not end the process of self-determination for New Caledonia. Under the terms of the 1998 Noumea Accord – which deferred a referendum on independence until this year Paris had pledged not to pull out of new Caledonia immediately in the event of a vote for independence in order to manage a peaceful transition.
The archipelago, which lies almost 17,000km from Paris, became a French colony in 1853. During colonial rule Kanaks were forced to live on reserves and labor force labor, which led to periodic ends of unrest. Fighting broke out between pro-independence Kanaks and settlers, who wanted to remain French in the 1980s. That led to a massacre in a cave on the island in 1988 when 19 indigenous people were killed and two French soldiers.
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